


Black Rain

by liziscribbles



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragon Age Fusion, Character Death, F/F, F/M, I'm a one trick pony..., Luna/Nyx; Crowe/Iris; Aranea/Cindy; Ravus/Loqi will also be pretty present, M/M, Multi, Prompto doesn't show up for a little while, Sorry guys., all my usual ships, because i can't do a fic that isn't some kind of fusion au., but background Gladio/Ignis will show up, the biggest ship will be Promptis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-01-06 04:21:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12203778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liziscribbles/pseuds/liziscribbles
Summary: Lord Noctis Lucis Caelum is the son of Teyrn Regis Lucis Caelum of Insomnia, and in line to take over leadership of the city in the event that something happens to his father.  However, what if something happens to his father, the castle,andthe city all at the same time?The Promptis Dragon Age AU that no one asked for...





	1. Run

High above the city of Insomnia, overlooking its citizens like a concerned parent or friend, stood the Citadel, home of the Teyrn of Insomnia. People from outside of the city called it a sight to behold, but to those who lived within its walls, it was really just home. It wasn't uncommon for people to come from far and wide, just to see the fine Lucian craftsmanship at work. 

The outer walls stood high and towering, made of stone gathered from the Balouve Mines and painted jet black. Ornate windows, trimmed with dark blue steel, liberally decorated the castle's walls in a perfectly symmetrical pattern, and dispersed patchily between them were small holes, perfect fits for archers to shoot from. The castle gate was massive and made of elm gathered from the forests of Myrlwood, as was the drawbridge and archery towers. Each tower housed a massive ballista, made of the same elm that composed the drawbridge and door, and the same steel that adorned the windows. 

It never fell too far into disrepair, because Teyrn Regis Lucis Caelum was aware that attacks could come from anywhere at any time, and he always ensured that any problems that arose were taken care of quickly. Honestly, Noctis wasn't sure why his father was so paranoid most of the time. For years, decades, _centuries_ even, Eos had known peace. Everything that Noctis knew of war came from stories that he heard his parents tell from years long past. Stories that his Uncle Clarus and Aunt Sophia would regale him with as a child whenever he happened to pass by them in the hallway.

Besides, people knew better than to attack. It wasn't like Insomnia wasn't prepared. They had a huge army on their own, plus loyal allies on every corner of the globe. His father worked hard to keep relations good, he went on goodwill missions that kept him away from home for months at a time sometimes, to the point that, occasionally, Noctis and his mother would wonder if he was coming back. The thought of being forced into Teyrnship that way was _terrifying_ to Noctis, but he was ready for it if it came to that. Fortunately, as far as he was aware, things were fine. He had nothing to worry about.

As he strode confidently through the castle halls, his loyal hound at his side, Noctis looked around him at his home. Much like the outside of the castle projected security, the inside projected comfort. Each room was decorated in black and trimmed with lapis blue trappings. The Caelum family crest—a pair of crossed swords, surrounded by a shattered crystal—was featured prominently in every room. Almost to the point that Noctis was tired of seeing it. The tapestries in the hallway where he stood in were made of fine silk, and they stood just out of reach of the silver wall sconces that lit the hall brightly. The floors were covered in soft woolen rugs, which made it nice when Noctis walked the halls barefoot at night to find a midnight snack or a drink of water.

Still, as much as Noctis loved the castle, it was boring being there _all the time_. Which was why he had every intent to spend the day outside of its walls. Eyes full of hope, Noctis glanced out the window and up at the sky. Gray. Dreary. Not exactly an ideal day for him to head down into Insomnia.

It was a favorite pastime of his, leaving the castle walls and riding his chocobo down into the city to spend time with the common folk. Common folk. Astrals, did Noctis hate that term. As far as he was concerned, there was legitimately no difference between him and the people who had been deemed common. He knew full well that his parents and most everyone who resided in the castle felt the same way. That, he always assumed, was why the Lucis Caelums were popular among their people. Loyalty was higher than Noctis had heard of in any other region on the planet. Maybe it was cocky, but he was pretty sure that everyone in town was happy.

Which was why, even with the sky tinted gray as it was, he was tempted to cast the nagging voice in the back of his head aside and go to the stables. There was a fishing rod at the shop in town that he'd been considering buying for months now, and Noctis felt like today was finally the day. Glancing down at his hound, and watching as the canine turned back toward him, black eyes wide with curiosity, Noctis shrugged his head to the side.

"I think we need to head down into the city. What do you think, Umbra?" Noctis asked.

Sometimes, it was almost as though the hound could understand him. When he said things like that, the dog would tilt his head to the side, or look at him in a _slightly_ different way, and Noctis could swear that he was questioning in some way that didn't commune well across species. This particular look, Noctis decided, was almost judgmental. Umbra could probably tell that it was about to rain. Hounds had keener senses in that way than humans did, didn't they? With a huff, Noctis tilted his head at Umbra and knelt down on the ground before him.

He smirked. "Don't give me that look, Umbra. I'm bored, and I don't think Teyrn Aldercapt is going to be here until tomorrow. You expect me to sit here and rot in boredom?"

The dog wasn't actually judging him, he was sure. The way he sat down in place, though, felt almost like a huff of exasperation. One that would even manage to make Ignis jealous, he was sure. At the thought of his elven friend, his eyes turned to glance toward the servant's quarters. Maybe it would have been wiser to let Ignis know where he was going, or Gladio, but if he did that, he ran the risk of them reminding him why it was a bad idea for him to go. He shook his head no, and then turned his head to look at Umbra again. Twenty years old was probably a little bit too old to be talking plans over with his dog, but it was _also_ too old to have to tell his parents and friends every time he wanted to take a chocobo ride to the city proper.

That, more than anything, resolved it in his mind. With a nod of self-assurance, he turned to look at Umbra again. "It won't be that bad, boy. You don't have to come with me if you don't want. It's about the time where Iggy and the others are making dinner, so you probably want to hang around the kitchen, anyway, right? I'm sure they'll give you scraps."

Leaning down, he scratched the dog behind the ears and then turned to start toward the chocobo stables. His chocobo wasn't exactly quiet, but as long as he didn't take forever getting the giant bird out of the stable, he could get out of the palace walls quickly. Much to his surprise, rather than taking off in the direction of the kitchens, Umbra stood back up and trotted alongside him toward the chocobo stables. Noctis turned, glancing at the dog in surprise. "You really don't have to, Umbra," he told the dog, backing up a couple more steps.

The dog didn't listen, though. Loyal to a fault, his hound. With a chuckle, he glanced over his shoulder at the end of the hallway. "Well, alright. If you're not gonna get Iggy's scraps, I'll buy you something from the market. Maybe a nice garula sirloin or a giant anak bone, hm?" he mused, beckoning for the dog to follow him.

When Umbra barked in response, Noctis cringed and shook his head. "Don't do that!" he hissed, though he instantly felt guilty for snapping at his canine friend and relaxed the tension that had entered his stance.

As his expression softened, he glanced back down at the dog, who didn't look fazed at all by his outburst. "Sorry, boy," he told Umbra. "Just... don't wanna get caught, you know? Not exactly sure whether I'm _supposed_ to be going down to the city today, but if I'm not, I don't exactly want Mother, Father, or Clarus to tell me not to. Or even worse, Gladio. Can you imagine if he catches me? I'll be forced into sprints around the castle, and I don't know about you, but that doesn't exactly sound appealing to me." He made a face.

Part of him expected this to be the moment that Gladio appeared. His old friend always chose the least-ideal moments to show up, and when he was talking to his dog about his plans to sneak out for the afternoon was exactly one of those moments. Fortunately, that didn't happen this time. Still, he looked over one shoulder, then the other, and then back at Umbra in surprise. Shrugging his lip and his shoulder at the same time, like his hound could understand exactly what was going through his mind or something, he turned and continued his trek through the castle.

Somehow, by some Astral-granted miracle, he made it to the chocobo stables undetected. The stable hands were busy at work, and beyond a tip of their hats, they didn't acknowledge Noctis' presence at all. Good. Umbra trotted alongside him as he walked up beside his chocobo—the only black chocobo in the family's stables—and brushed a hand over her head.

"Long time no see, hm, Archdemon?" he asked the bird.

Just like Umbra, the bird almost seemed like she understood him. She leaned her head down so that Noctis could reach to scratch it a little bit easier, and he managed a soft laugh as he ruffled her feathers fondly. "I know. It's been far too long since you've stretched your legs, hm? Well, that's okay. We're going to Insomnia, you and I," he told her, as he gathered her saddle from the wall, and the reins from where they hung. "How does that sound?"

Archdemon gave an eager kweh in response, and Noctis cringed against the sound, looking out around him desperately. He knew that, for the most part, the stable hands didn't make a big deal of things when he was here. They were all pretty cool. A couple of them would even cover for Noctis sometimes when he found himself outside of the castle walls for a little longer than he probably should have been. It wasn't in the plan, really, to be out that long today. Just long enough to go to the city and mingle, maybe shop a little bit and get a little bit of gossip from his peers, so that he could actually keep up with Gladio and Ignis' conversations while they played cards that night.

With that in mind, Noctis offered Archdemon a gyasahl green and took a few krakka roots from the pail near her stable, before saddling her and climbing up onto her back. He smoothed a hand through her soft feathers and listened to her gentle, pleased, kwehs, before giving her sides a gentle kick and nodding his head at the pair of stable hands when they noticed him.

A few of them just shook their heads and laughed, before getting back to work and turning a 'blind eye' to Noctis' escape. Archdemon sprinted away from the stables, with Umbra sprinting at her side, and Noctis smiled at the feeling of the wind whipping around his face. The stable smell faded into fresh air as he rode down the hill and toward the town. He'd done it. Once again, he'd managed to get away from the castle without being caught. A swell of pride bubbled up, and he glanced up at the sky. Way off in the distance, the gray was fading into blue. Good. Maybe this wasn't as ill-advised as he'd initially thought.

The gentle ocean breeze that crept into his nose from the sea that surrounded Insomnia made him smile. It had been ages since Noctis had been anywhere where he would need to take to the sea. He used to love traveling by ocean. All of the trips that his father took him on to Accordo and Tenebrae as a child had them sailing the Sathersea from Galdin Quay. Maybe when he got home, he would ask if they could take a trip for fun. No business, just visiting their friends on the other side of the ocean.

If his father wasn't too mad at him for sneaking out, anyway.

As he edged closer to the city, the scent of the bakery entered his nostrils, and suddenly, there was nothing that he wanted more than a bit of bakery-fresh bread. It was never _quite_ as good as what Ignis baked at home, but the bread that he bought from the bakery felt more like freedom than what he ate at home, as silly as it seemed. The baker never judged him for it, but he'd always assumed that it was more to make a sale than for any sort of kindness. Cynical, maybe, but some of the peddlers in the city were merciless about things like that. He'd learned to navigate them, though.

Slowing to a stop at the bottom of the mountain that connected the Citadel to Insomnia, Noctis smiled as he led Archdemon through the streets. She liked being able to stretch her legs as much as Noctis liked being around normal people. The bakery smell faded into the metallic smell of the smith's forge, and Noctis watched as he worked beneath the awning outside of his shop. Oftentimes, the man was charged with making weaponry for Noctis' father's troops, and Noctis had to imagine that it was a full-time job to keep an army as vast as his father's supplied. He wondered how the man did it, but he'd never let them down yet.

That wasn't why he was there, though, so he turned away from the smithy and over toward the stalls that composed the Insomnia markets.

Several stands caught his attention. One was the dress shop, with the pale pink gown that Iris had mentioned wanting. The Accordan seamstress was one of the best in Eos, and Gladio was planning to buy it for his baby sister for her birthday. She also had several moogle plushes that Iris would love. Maybe Noctis would make a stop by before he went back to the castle, to buy Iris' birthday present early, as well as a scarf or a shawl for his mother. That would help smooth over the fact that he'd snuck away, he was sure. Well, sure was probably stretching it. _Partially_ sure.

Beyond that, though, was the dwarven craft stand. He had weapons and armor, sure, but along one side of his stand, there were several trinkets, among which rested a silver fishing pole, etched with a twining pattern. The dwarf in charge of the stand—a kind man by the name of Navyth—had told him that it was made of wood from a tree that always seemed to thrive year round, in a place where wild chocobos roamed free and the sun always shined. It was probably a lie. Noctis wasn't foolish enough to believe that such a place existed, unless it was enchanted by some sort of magic, but it was the story more than anything that made him want the pole. He didn't lack for fishing poles otherwise, but this one would always be attached to that fond memory.

When Noctis got to the stand, he spotted Navyth, talking to one of his father's Glaives. Pelna Khara, one of the few Glaives around Noctis' age, glanced at some of the smaller trinkets. More specifically, a gold-plated behemoth horn, turning it over in his hand in consideration.

Navyth once again wove a tale. This time it was a tale of the behemoth, Deadeye. The story involved several battle-trained hunters, who invaded Deadeye's lair and tried to slay the beast. It was a long fought battle, he explained. They lost a man, and Deadeye still stood in that same place, but minus a horn now. The hunters plated the horn in gold, and sold it off to pay for armor and weapons to go back and get vengeance for their fallen comrade. Once again, Noctis was reasonably certain that it was a tall tale. While he had heard legends of Deadeye, and how the behemoth lived in the woods outside of a town several hundred malms away, he was sure that no one was foolhardy enough to try and combat the monster. It was vicious, and angry, and bloodthirsty, and as much as Noctis wanted to see it, he also absolutely didn't want to be anywhere near it.

As Noctis' eyes sought the fishing pole, he heard Navyth's voice addressing him. "Ah, the wayward Lord Noctis returns," he commented pleasantly, stepping across the booth and watching as Noctis scanned his wares. "Looking for that fishing pole again, are you?"

With a smile, Noctis nodded his head. He stepped up to the chocobo troth nearby and tied Archdemon to it, watching as she immediately busied herself with feeding on the krakka roots supplied by the town, and then stepped up to the stall once again. "Is it still here, or has someone already bought it?" he asked Navyth nervously. It was something he'd worried about several times, that his hesitance would end with him missing out.

Navyth shook his head and chuckled fondly. "No. In fact, I've been storing it down here on the off chance you would return with the intent to finally buy," he explained as he crouched down and opened a large drawer beneath the stall. Out came the fishing pole, and he displayed it to Noctis with a confident smile. "Is today the day?"

Noctis nodded. "I think so. I've held off for long enough." He turned toward Archdemon, and reached into the pouch that hung from her saddle, pulling out a bag of gil. Reaching in, he glanced up at Navyth. "Is the price still the same?" Eight hundred gil seemed fair, but then, Noctis was fairly certain that he'd have paid about five times more than that if he'd had to.

"Eight hundred?" Pelna asked incredulously from where he stood nearby. "Navyth, my friend, are you trying to rip our gullible Lord Noctis off?"

The accusation didn't faze Navyth, who shook his head no. "I assure you, the craftsmanship and enchantments on this fishing pole make it worth upwards of a thousand. I'm offering it to the young Lord at a grand discount. As a fellow angler, I'd be remiss if I didn't. If you aren't careful, the price on _that_ trinket will rise to cover the discount, too." Despite his words, though, Navyth was smiling, and Noctis was wondering if there was some sort of teasing undertone to the conversation that he was missing.

Pelna put his hands up in resignation and laughed a soft note. "Fair enough," he replied, turning to glance at Noctis. "I didn't know that sharks could walk on land, did you?"

"I don't think Navyth is a shark," Noctis answered, offering the handful of gil out to the dwarf, accepting the fishing rod, and then turning back to Pelna. "A bit of a liar and a tall tale weaver, maybe. Not a shark, though." The smile on Noctis' face grew as he ran his fingertips along the engravings on the rod's reel. The bumps felt nice on his fingers, the metal cool and smooth. "Eight hundred is a fair price. The rod is well-crafted. Better, even, than some that I have back at home."

With a gentle laugh, Navyth tilted his head to the side. "A ringing endorsement from Lord Noctis Lucis Caelum! If I'd had anything to do with the rod's craftsmanship, I'd be blushing with pride. You can thank the Lestallum craftsmen, and the mages at the Circle for that," he chuckled fondly.

Every time Noctis heard mention of the Circle, he tensed. It was an involuntary reaction, really, but considering the fact that, by all rights, he was supposed to reside there, it was a natural one. Enough, in the moment, to distract Noctis from requesting that Navyth not call him 'Lord Caelum,' even. His family had always done whatever they could to ensure that his magic stayed secret. Templars had come to the castle once or twice with the intent to take him away, but a combination of his father's standing and the generous sum that they paid to keep the Templar order thriving as comfortably as it was, managed to keep him from the tower. That, Noctis felt, was one of the major upsides to his standing. Unfair, maybe, but he'd heard horrible things about the Circle. Particularly the magical castration that they called tranquility.

While he knew that it only really happened in severe cases, in cases where the user couldn't control their magic—a problem which Noctis had been trained very well to avoid—it was still a terrifying thought. Losing his magic, losing his emotions, losing his _humanity_ was not high on his to-do list. Thankfully, the possibility that Navyth knew of his status as an apostate was very, very small. Pelna almost certainly did, as Noctis' father ensured that all of the Glaives knew. Navyth, on the other hand, didn't. 

As quickly as the tension clenched his shoulders, he relaxed it and allowed Navyth a smile. "I don't really care who made it," he explained. "It's well-made and will serve me very well at the bay the next time I go."

"Indeed," a new voice—one that Noctis didn't recognize at all—joined the conversation. "Very well made. Those engravings are ancient dwarven runes. I spotted water runes and I believe that the rune on the handle stands for 'bountiful harvest.'" The voice's carrier stepped up beside Noctis and glanced down at the fishing pole.

Noctis turned to look at the man, who projected a very tall and imposing presence despite the kind smile on his face as he looked over Noctis' new fishing pole. He was dressed from neck to toe in armor made of mythril, had a long katana hanging from his left hip, and his helm in his arm. Hanging from the same hand that held his helm were reins that led to a majestic green chocobo with a very serene expression on its face. The chocobo and Archdemon were examining each other closely, and even Archdemon seemed to be impressed with the other bird.

It seemed like Navyth was intrigued by the man as well. "You know your runes, friend," he pointed out. "And it seems that I undercharged the young Lord." That part was added as a soft and amused afterthought.

The man smiled a thin-lipped smile, and Noctis wasn't sure if it was amused or not. "I do," he answered.

"He wouldn't be a very good Marshal of the Eventide if he didn't, now would he?" Pelna put in, smiling up at the man with his whole face. "Welcome to Insomnia, Marshal Leonis. Captain Drautos told us that you wouldn't be here until tomorrow, sir. When Teyrn Aldercapt arrives."

Just as quickly as it appeared, the smile faded from the man's face. "I wasn't planning on it," he admitted. "However, an urgent circumstance brings me here earlier than I'd intended. Lord Regis is at the castle, I presume?" His attention turned from Pelna to Noctis, as though the question was posed to him.

Noctis nodded. "Yes," he answered, trying to hide exactly how intimidated the man made him.

With a single nod, the man—Defender Marshal Leonis—turned his attention back to Pelna and Navyth. "Then I will take my leave," he announced, before turning his attention back to Noctis. "I would suggest that you finish your business here and make haste back to the castle, too, if you don't want to be caught. Your father will likely come looking for you when I arrive."

And, without another word, the man pulled his chocobo to a more open space, mounted it, and then took off back up the hill and toward the castle. Noctis watched him as he disappeared through the town's gates, and then turned his attention to Pelna, who was similarly surprised by the man's rapid appearance, then just as rapid disappearance. With a soft chuckle, Pelna gently shoved Noctis in the shoulder.

"We should heed his advice, Noct. If a Eventide Defender says something is urgent, it's probably about fifty times worse than what we'd consider urgent..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REMEMBER WHEN I SAID THAT I WANTED TO TAKE ON A THIRD PROJECT? Surpriiiise! I blame my friends on the Content Creator discord for this, as well as the usual suspect, Miss [nicoleiacross](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nicoleiacross/pseuds/nicoleiacross).
> 
> I'm still not _entirely_ sure that I'll keep going with this, I guess it depends on whether or not people are into the idea. XD


	2. Attack

Noctis managed to take the time to stop at the bakery, the butcher, and the chocobo greens stall. He'd promised Umbra some kind of treat for going along with his crazy plan, and whether or not the hound could understand him, breaking promises to his dog was not something that he was interested in. Archdemon deserved a reward, too, for always being there to carry him on his ill-advised ventures from the castle to the city, and Noctis was also sort of hungry himself. He'd ended up buying an Ulwaat Berry muffin for each Pelna and himself, after the Glaive had told him that he was hungry, too.

For Noctis' part, he'd downed the muffin in a matter of minutes as he rode on Archdemon's back to get back to the castle. Pelna, too, rode on one of the family's chocobos at Noctis' side. His was the normal shade of chocobo yellow, and it wasn't exactly the fastest they had either. Noctis knew that much. Especially considering the fact that Archdemon's trotting speed was considerably faster than the other bird's. There was nothing _wrong_ with Pelna's bird, of course, but Noctis had trained Archdemon to be as quick as lightning. Sometimes, it made it difficult to ride alongside someone else, but Noctis did his best to try and ensure that the bird stayed slow enough not to lose Pelna.

The pair of them were halfway up the mountain when Noctis realized that there was a problem. Everything seemed normal, for the most part, but from the far west side of the castle, Noctis saw a small puff of smoke rising in rhythmic fashion. It was an odd rhythm, several small puffs, then a large puff, followed by two small and three large. The pattern repeated itself twice, and Noctis glanced at Pelna, to see that his companion was already kicking lightly at his chocobo's ribs to speed it up.

Of course, Noctis knew exactly why. A signal fire of any kind coming from the castle was bad. Noctis remembered seeing signal fires twice before in his lifetime. The first one was to inform the villagers of an impending storm, and that they needed to be ready and stay safe. The second was because there was a herd of vicious saberteeth right outside the city, on the path from it to the castle, who were attacking at any given time. Neither of those warnings were as frantic or erratic as these ones. While he hadn't caught the first few letters of the warning, what he _did_ catch spelled out 'tack,' which didn't leave much to the imagination as to the beginning of the message.

His heart sank the pit of his stomach. The castle was under attack.

"Pelna?" His voice sounded pathetic and nervous to his own ears as he addressed the Glaive, and he watched as Pelna slowed his chocobo and turned around to look at him.

Pelna tried to project calm, but Noctis could see the nervousness on the man's face when he halted his chocobo. "We need to get back, Lord Noctis. The castle is under attack and..."

Anything else he may have said fell on deaf ears. Though the castle was a reasonable distance away, Noctis could still plainly see a large catapult being wheeled around to the side of the castle. One minute, the giant rock inside of the catapult was just a normal rock, and then the next, Noctis could see it spark into flame. Massive flame, the likes of which he'd only ever seen in bonfires before. Flaming rocks. The castle walls may have been strong, but there was no way that it could stand strong against a catapulted rock.

Just as he expected, the rock flew through the air and impacted with the northwestern wall of the castle, smashing the stone bricks as if they hadn't ever existed. Horror flashed across Noctis' face, and he turned to look at Pelna again, before squeezing Archdemon's ribs and wordlessly telling the bird that they had to hurry. Honestly, at this point, he wasn't even worried about leaving the Glaive in the dust. When he got back to the castle, he'd have something that he had to do, anyway. First of all, he would have to meet with the other Glaives, and then the group of them would each be given a specific task. Noctis' time was better served looking for his parents and friends.

It wasn't long before he could barely see Pelna over his shoulder anymore. The last thing he remembered seeing was the Glaive turning around and charging toward the castle behind Noctis.

Normally, Noctis would go to the stables to drop Archdemon off, but the part of the palace that housed the stables was in a ruin of rubble, and Noctis could only stare at it in horror, before he jumped down from his chocobo's back when he neared the gates. From where he stood, the whole area looked like some kind of war zone. Glaives fought with people that he didn't recognize. Archers stood in the towers and shot through the archery holes in the castle walls. Glaive mages, too, fired from the towers and the archery holes. Hundreds of front-line fighters were engaged in combat, and Noctis was completely dumbstruck as he watched them. Some fought easily, but he recoiled in horror as he watched some of them lose, fall, and die.

A single thought leaped into his mind in that moment. His parents. His father wasn't the type of person to let something like this happen without a fight, which meant that in the thick of this battle, his parents were probably out there somewhere. His father was a very powerful spirit healer, and his mother was skilled with any sort of weapon that she was forced to use. Noctis knew that they weren't the type of leaders to sit on their laurels and do nothing. That meant, of course, that Noctis had to find them. He had to help them.

The very second he stood up straight, though, he felt the hard grasp of a familiar hand on his shoulder. As he whirled around, he caught sight of Pelna, who finally seemed to have caught up. "Lord Noctis! Excuse my intrusion, but what in the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" he snapped.

"My parents!" Noctis replied, his voice likely a little bit too loud. "They're-"

Pelna put a hand on Noctis' mouth and shook his head no. "They're in there somewhere, I'm aware, and I'm sure you want to find them. Finding them won't do you any good if you die before you get there, though. Right?" he asked.

Annoyance flashed across Noctis' face as he yanked Pelna's hand from his mouth. "I'm fully capable of defending myself, Pelna," he reminded the Glaive.

With an annoyed huff, Pelna nodded his head. "I know that, Noctis. And I realize that you're not exactly thinking with a completely clear head at the moment. The smartest thing that we can possibly do right now, though, is seek out Captain Drautos or General Amicitia, to have them lead us safely to your parents. Right?" He leveled Noctis with a look, and then cast his eyes out across the battlefield.

Frustration. That was the only thing that Noctis could feel at the moment. He nodded all the same, and then looked out around them at the hundreds of battles happening around them. As much as he wanted to find his parents, he also felt like he was turning his back on all of these people. They were all willing to lay their lives down, sure, but that didn't make it any easier. Noctis didn't _want_ anyone to have to lay their lives down. He turned his head to look at Pelna, who was looking around and trying to assess the situation. At least, Noctis was pretty sure that was what he was trying to do. After a few moments of silence, Pelna finally turned to look at him.

"If General Amicitia is anywhere, he's more than likely helping your parents in the throne room, or at the gates trying to assist Drautos with assembling the troops. We should make a break for the gates at the first chance we get," Pelna told Noctis, before glancing back out across the expanse of battles happening before them. "There's an opening. Follow my lead and _do not stop_ , do you understand me?"

Turning his eyes toward Archdemon, who was looking back at him with her black eyes wide, Noctis felt guilty beyond all reason leaving her here. "Run," he said to the chocobo, then turned to Umbra. "Both of you, run. I don't know if you can understand me... if you could _ever_ understand me, but if there's _any_ level of understanding _anywhere_ , run for the city. Keep running, okay?"

Selfish? Maybe. But over the years, Noctis had grown incredibly attached to his chocobo, and obviously Umbra, being his hound, earned equal attachment. Somehow, in the moment that it mattered the most, neither animal seemed to understand him. As he dashed off in the direction that Pelna had directed him, Umbra and Archdemon _both_ followed him like they were completely aware of how horrible an idea it was, and how much danger they were throwing themselves into. Part of him wanted to stop and tell them to run, but the further they got across the path that Pelna led him across, the more he realized that them running _now_ put them in more danger than if they stayed.

Umbra lunged at a man in unfamiliar white armor, knocking the man away from Noctis, and then hurried behind Noctis again, until they reached the palace gates. They were closed, but Pelna beat at them with both fists. "Open the gates! I have Lord Noctis here! We need to get inside!" he shouted.

The gate didn't open immediately, and as much as Noctis wanted to be inside, he was also kind of thankful for that fact. The second the gate opened, all of these troops in white would flood inside and things would go from bad to worse. After a few seconds, Pelna cursed and looked at Noctis. "I should have known better to expect the gates to open," he hissed in annoyance. "We need another way inside."

Another way into the castle. The stables were out, because they were currently rubble on the ground. Noctis found himself idly hoping that all of the stable hands and chocobos managed to get out safely, but somehow, he suspected that they hadn't. It had happened too quickly. The catapult and the rock seemed to have come from nowhere. Shaking that thought off, he thought more about the castle and of alternate ways for them to get inside. They could break a window with Noctis' magic, probably, but even if they managed that, they would still have to climb to get inside. On the ground floor, there was one place he remembered. It was perfect, even if it was a little further away than breaking a window.

Noctis beckoned for Pelna to follow him. "There's a bulkhead door on the west end that leads to the servants quarters." Years and years ago, it was Noctis' favorite way to sneak out of the castle. He'd stopped a long time ago, when Ignis caught him sneaking back in with a whole pack full of trinkets and silly things that he probably didn't _need_ , but still wanted.

The run around the castle was longer than Noctis remembered it being, and in the background, the sound of steel hitting steel, screams of agony and angry grunts of combat faded into the distance. He could still hear them, but by the time the four of them reached the bulkhead, they were more like background noise than an all-encompassing ringing in his ears. It didn't make it any easier to hear, and made Noctis feel like maybe it was some sort of miracle that they'd gone this long unnoticed.

They had, though, so as he used the old key he kept stored in Archdemon's bag and unlocked the door, Pelna immediately set to work pulling it open to keep them out in the open as little as possible. Noctis looked at Archdemon, worry lining his eyes as he realized that the door was too small to fit the giant bird inside. She looked like she wanted to try to get in with him, but no matter what they tried, Noctis honestly couldn't see a way for it to work. Swallowing nervously, he turned his attention to Umbra and murmured, "lead her away, Umbra, okay? I know you want to help me. I know you want to stay with me, but... I can't leave Archdemon out there alone. After... when all of this is over? I'll find you. B-but..."

Pelna's face held an expression that mixed understanding with exasperation, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned and looked through the basement that Noctis led them to. Scanning for a way out most likely. Noctis knew exactly where it was, and when he was sure that both his chocobo and his hound were running to safety, he would show Pelna where it was. Not until then, though.

Umbra looked at him with an inquisitive head tilt, and Noctis shooed him with a wave of his hand. "Umbra, go," he repeated, trying not to sound too angry because he didn't want the dog to think that he'd done anything wrong by wanting to be by Noctis' side. It was urgent, though.

It took a couple more seconds worth of coaxing, before the hound finally listened and stepped outside of the bulkhead door, looking at Noctis with an expression that almost looked worried. The dog was almost human sometimes, Noctis could swear. "I'll find you, boy. I promise. For now, though... I've got to... just run, okay! Take Archdemon and go to the beach. Find somewhere to hide and keep her safe!" Not that Archdemon was completely helpless; chocobo had a hell of a kick, and Noctis had learned that firsthand as a kid. But, Archdemon was way more vulnerable than Umbra was.

Neither the hound nor the chocobo moved, still, and Noctis forced himself to take action and _hope_ that they moved once the door closed behind him. Swallowing thickly, he pulled on the heavy wooden door, closing it behind him and locking it. Not that it probably mattered. If the men, whoever they were, wanted to get in, they would find a way. For now, though, it was something keeping him from instant death, which was more than they'd had outside.

When he turned and cast his eyes around the old cellar, he almost cringed physically. Cobwebs littered the walls, almost overtook the whole area, and made it even harder to see than the darkness did. He heard the chittering squeak of rats somewhere around, likely hiding behind old casks and boxes, keeping themselves away from the two humans intruding on their homes. There were probably spiders in this basement, too, but Noctis shook that thought off, swallowed a rush of emotion as he glanced back at the door and hoped that Umbra and Archdemon found their way to safety, then walked toward the exit.

Pelna was close, but far away at the same time. The exit was on the opposite side of the room, and without a word, Noctis walked over to the door and tried to find the lock. It was dark, and the lock was on a long chain, which made it all the more difficult. Rather than make a scene or complain, he spotted a nearby wall sconce and used a gust of wind magic to clear the cobwebs away from its vicinity. It seemed to catch Pelna's attention—jump him, even—and Noctis heard him curse under his breath from the other side of the room.

"What in the name of Shiva's godlike tits are you _doing_?" he asked, annoyed.

Snorting a humorless laugh, Noctis ticked a shoulder up in a shrug and threw a small blast of fire magic into the air to light the sconce. "Shedding some light on the situation," was his simple reply as he took the lock in his hand and put the key in. The lock was old and rusty, but with a little effort, the key went in, and Noctis turned it, slowly opening the door a crack and taking a look around the servant's quarters.

More specifically, the common area in the servant's quarters. The place was a ghost town, which was really weird in and of itself. When Noctis was young, he would come here with Gladio to spend time with some of the servants' children, play games, and hang around with Ignis. Ignis and Gladio played things like chess and read books, while Noctis and Iris would play with toys or play some silly game that the two of them had invented. Every time back then that he'd been to this part of the castle, and every time since, the place had always been lively and packed. There was always something going on.

Now, though, he could clearly hear the sounds of battle close by, the place looked like it had been thoroughly ransacked. Chairs were flipped and a table was completely shattered, there were scorch marks on the walls and a couple of the windows were broken. When he opened the door fully and stepped into the servant's quarters, Noctis' eyes went wide when he spotted a pair of familiar faces. Jared Hester, one of the Amicitia family's elven servants, lay on the floor, impaled by a monstrous sword. It looked almost like Gladio's sword, but it wasn't. Not only was Gladio's sword silver, while this one was black, but Gladio looked at Jared like something of a second father or a grandfather. So, he would never harm the man. A few feet away lay Monica Elshett.

Monica was face down on the floor, and the back of her dress was torn with a streak of char. The center of the floor was similarly charred, and even as Noctis hurried to Monica's side to check her for any sort of vital sign, in his mind he was piecing together exactly what had happened. He knew that he was fully and completely capable of making a magic explosion of that caliber, and the way Monica was lying, he suspected that another mage had appeared to do just that. One, maybe, with more power than even he had.

Behind him, Pelna seemed similarly horrified as he looked around the room with several devastated huffs and groans. Noctis checked Monica's wrist, then her neck, for a pulse. When he found nothing, his heart sank as he let her hand come to rest on the floor and turned his attention to where Jared sat, pinned to the wall. If Jared was dead, then where was Talcott? Jared's grandson, a boy named Talcott, was always at his grandfather's side. Noctis had to hope, _somehow_ , that the boy had managed to escape.

"Who did this?" Noctis seethed under his breath as he took a closer look at the sword protruding from Jared's stomach.

Pelna stepped up beside him and looked the sword over. "The sword is strong. The crest looks Nifilian, but the metal is Tenebraean. Which, I suppose, makes sense, given what Tenebrae has been through at the hands of the Teyrns of Niflheim."

Beyond the identity of the people who were invading, Noctis tuned out everything that Pelna was saying. He knew, of course, that relations with Niflheim had been strained for a long time. He _also_ knew that the whole reason that Teyrn Aldercapt was coming to town the next day was in hopes that, between the two of them, Noctis' father and the Niflheim Teyrn could improve things. Either someone else in Niflheim didn't agree, or Teyrn Aldercapt had other plans. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. For _some_ reason and under _someone's_ orders, Niflheim was invading. Whether or not it was Aldercapt didn't matter.

"We have to find my parents." Because if they were willing to slaughter people who they felt were of no import, who knew what they were willing to do to a Teyrn and Teyrna. Noctis' stomach sank.

Pelna stopped him with a hand on his arm. "I understand why you want to find them, Lord Noctis. I still feel like our wisest course of action is to find General Amicitia and Captain Drautos, though. They may very well be able to lead us to where your parents are and-"

Noctis narrowed his eyes. "I don't care how we get there. I just want to get there."

With a sigh, Pelna nodded his head. "Alright. Let's get to the-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Noctis heard the sound of footfalls outside the room that they were in. Panicked breathing followed, as well as the sound of a battle grunt. Whoever it was seemed to be fighting, that much was obvious. Noctis charged up a ball of fire in his hand, not even bothering to wait for Pelna before he took off in a run toward the sound. Vaguely, he heard Pelna's protests behind him, but he ignored them in favor of rushing as fast as he could to get to whoever was in the hallway.

When Noctis spotted them, his eyes widened. Running at a speed that Noctis had only seen _him_ pull off was Ignis. His elven friend turned and looked over his shoulder every couple of steps, and occasionally dove out of the way of an oncoming arrow that the Nifilian attacker fired at him. Noctis didn't think twice. Releasing the magic that he'd been charging in his hand, he fired at the armed man, setting him ablaze. Screams echoed through the hallway, and that definitely shook Noctis more than anything else he'd seen so far. Even so, he couldn't take his eyes off the man as he watched him drop to the ground and burn. Burn _alive_.

It made a sick feeling crop up in his stomach, but before it could take hold, he turned to Ignis, who was looking at him in wide-eyed shock. "Noctis!"

To say that Noctis was relieved to see his friend was a drastic understatement. Pelna was a good familiar face, obviously. Seeing Ignis, though, and seeing that he was in one piece, was a rush of relief that he didn't think he needed at the moment. He breathed in and then out in a slow and steady huff through his nose, and threw his arms around Ignis' neck as the soldier's screams faded and then disappeared completely. It was a harrowing experience, but it was easier knowing that he'd done it to defend a friend.

"Specs, I'm so glad you're okay," Noctis told his friend. "I'm so glad. B-but Jared. And Monica!" He gestured broadly over his shoulder and toward the common room.

Ignis nodded, turning his eyes to look at Pelna for a brief second, before turning to look at Noctis. "Yes. Yes, I know. I was there..." he spoke in a shaky voice, gripping the daggers in his hands a little bit tighter. "I've been frantically searching for Talcott since it happened. H-he was there, too, and he ran when Jared was killed..." Now, his voice was a little more worried than shaky, but there was still a little bit of fear there. A lot of fear, really, and a lot of panic.

Noctis frowned. Talcott was there when Jared and Monica were killed. His parents had died ages ago, just after he was born. Noctis knew that the boy barely remembered them, honestly. Since then, Monica had served as a surrogate mother, but Jared was the only family that he had left. Watching the pair of them be killed at the same time? Noctis understood why Talcott had run. Still, something dawned on him right then. Noctis looked back at Ignis with eyes wide with horror.

"You fended off the attackers?"

Much to Noctis' surprise, Ignis shook his head no, though he didn't look too fond of the idea himself. "I tried. I suspect that they think me to be dead. They knocked me back into the wall, and I opened my eyes just in time to see Talcott retreating, pursued by a pair of soldiers." With his eyes turning toward Pelna, Ignis said, "if you seek Captain Drautos, the last I recall, he was heading toward the Teyrn's chambers. I hate to ask, though, but I would appreciate it if one of you stayed and assisted me in finding Talcott, and then locating Iris and Gladio..."

Noctis didn't need to be asked twice. "Pelna. You can... you can go for Captain Drautos, okay? I'll stay here and help Ignis find Talcott," he told the Glaive. At first, it looked like Pelna was going to argue, so Noctis added, "that's an order, Pelna..." though he didn't sound nearly as certain as his father did when he said it. He'd never given a Glaive an order before, and it felt strange to be doing so now.

With a frown etching across a face that always had a smile on it, Pelna nodded once, before turning his eyes from Noctis, momentarily to Ignis, and then back to Noctis. "As you wish, _Lord Noctis_." The words made Noctis feel more uncomfortable than they had any right to, really, but he kind of deserved them, and he knew it. "But once you find Talcott, I would very strongly suggest that you come to the Teyrn's chambers to find us. We will ensure that you make it out of the castle safely."

After Noctis nodded in reply, still feeling the sting of being addressed by his title instead of by name, he watched as Pelna took off in the direction of his father's chambers. The sounds of combat were still loud and terrifying, but Noctis turned to Ignis despite the fact that he was far more scared than he had been in a long time, and breathed a steadying breath. "Alright. Which way did Talcott go?" he asked.

It seemed as though Ignis was a little bit surprised as he watched Pelna retreat, but he turned to look at Noctis all the same. "I suspect that he would head to the guards quarters, in search of General Amicitia, or Gladio. Or perhaps he ran to Iris' chambers, since she is commonly left in charge of babysitting him," he suggested.

A small part of Noctis wondered if maybe they should split up, but the rest of him thought back to when he'd attacked the soldier moments ago. The solider who still lay on the ground a few feet away, in charred and smoking armor. The soldier that _Noctis_ had killed. Did he think that he _could_ handle more of that on his own? Sure. Did he want to? Absolutely not in the slightest. He'd trained alongside Ignis, as well as Gladio and Iris, as the four of them grew up together. Having someone at his back was appealing in a way that was probably shameful for the son of a Teyrn, but he couldn't help it.

"We should check the guard quarters first. I'd imagine that Iris would have headed that way, too. She probably wanted to find her dad and her brother more than Talcott did, so..." The words trailed off in an unspoken question, as Noctis turned to Ignis and asked if he was right. His elven friend was an intelligent man. Clarus had trained him in strategy for years. While this wasn't a _battlefield_ strategy, it was something that required a cunning mind, so Ignis' opinion was important.

Much to Noctis' surprise, Ignis nodded his head. "Yes, I'd had much the same thought myself. I should warn you. As I was running toward the dining room, I saw a large contingent of soldiers headed in that direction. With that in mind, I would suspect that we will need to exercise caution in getting to the guard chambers. Perhaps stick to the shadows. While I know you to be a capable mage, the pair of us against many soldiers is-"

Noctis cut him off, nodding. "Bad news," he responded, taking a little pressure and worry from Ignis' shoulders. He already worried too much, anyway.

Laughing a gentle, half-humored laugh, Ignis nodded his head. "Very bad news, yes," he answered.

"We'll be okay. We'll take the back routes, go through rooms and try to stay off their radar."

That, Noctis figured, was one advantage that he and Ignis had. Gladio, Iris, and Talcott, too. They knew the castle better than these soldiers did. They could navigate the place with too much issue. The Nifilian soldiers would need to search. With that in mind, and a plan in place, Noctis beckoned for Ignis to follow his lead, shielding the pair of them in a magic barrier and charging up a blast of ice magic in one hand, then fire in the other, before starting down the hall toward the guard chambers. It wasn't _too_ far away. Not really. Noctis couldn't help but feel like every step was taking an eternity, though.

It would be okay. All he had to do was find Talcott, and _then_ he could go and find his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm running on a new once a week schedule for each of my fics! Black Rain will now update every Friday, friends!
> 
> ♥♥


	3. Blood

The pair of them somehow managed to avoid conflict for a good long while. Well, _long_ while was a bit of a stretch, maybe, but knowing the castle as well as they did certainly helped them keep safe. All of the hiding places were pretty obscure unless someone was specifically looking for them, and there were several times where they'd needed to duck _into_ those hiding places to avoid oncoming Nifilian soldiers. As they left the tiny hallway that led to a small supply closet, Noctis glanced in the direction that they'd seen a much _larger_ contingent of soldiers walking off to. He turned to Ignis, who was similarly taken aback, and clamped down hard on his lower lip.

"They seem to all be heading to the same place," Ignis pointed out, turning to look back at Noctis with a nervous look on his face. "I fear that this means that they're mostly done here. I'm not sure what comes next, but I'm certain of one thing. It's more than likely not something we want to be on our own for."

Noctis couldn't argue. First, though, they needed to find Talcott. The guard barracks were just a little further down the hallway they currently stood in, so Noctis pulled up another charge of magic into each of his hands. When they got to the barracks, perhaps he could locate a blade there. Until then, though, he was more than adept enough with his magic to keep the soldiers from getting to the range that Ignis needed to use his daggers. Fortunately, though, his rogue friend was more than capable. If it did get to that point, they would still be fine. That didn't mean that Noctis _wanted_ it to get there, though.

A flash of anger cropped up when he glanced up at the ceiling, to see a giant hole that showed the cloudy late afternoon sky. The clouds had disappeared for a short time, but they'd come back in force. It was almost like a foreboding image, something that Noctis _should_ have taken into account before he left to go to town that day. Whether he was at the castle or not didn't really matter, he supposed, but it still would have been nicer to _be_ here. Maybe then he wouldn't have had to worry so much about where his parents were.

Shaking that thought of, Noctis hurried a little bit quicker toward the guard barracks. Except, as they neared, the troubled feeling in the pit of his stomach doubled, then formed into a sickening knot as he took in the sight before him.

Soldiers littered the ground like someone had dumped them from a bucket, some of them laying in unnatural positions and some of them laying flat on their backs or stomachs. Some were impaled with swords and others were riddled with arrows. The one commonality though, was that all of them were dead. The floor, normally black cobblestone with a blue rug, was stained red with blood. His hands shook. Many of these men, he recognized. Some were childhood playmates, others told him exciting stories about battles past and taught him strategies for if he ever found himself in danger.

All of this, and they hadn't even reached the door to the barracks yet.

With slow and shaky step, Noctis crept toward the barracks nervously, foreboding increasing with each step. He held Ignis off with a raise of his hand and a shake of his head, pressing his back against the wall and listening quietly. A pair of familiar voices hit his ears. One was crying, whimpering muffled sounds, and the other was trying to comfort the first. The one crying was Talcott, Noctis could make that out clearly. The second, too, was a relief, and at the sound of Iris' comforting words whispered to the young boy, Noctis whirled around the corner to announce his presence—their presence, since Ignis followed closely behind—to their two friends.

Only, when he saw the guard barracks, his heart sank even further. Iris and Talcott were unscathed for the most part. Iris had a large cut on her cheek, which dripped blood down the side of her face, but other than that she appeared to be physically fine. Talcott, too, looked uninjured. However, the barracks themselves... the sight was almost harrowing. The ground was almost completely covered with blood, to the point that Noctis' shoes squished into it every time he took a step down. Corpses, obviously all freshly dead, lay in natural positions, almost like the Nifilian soldiers had entered and started slaughtering them all while they rested.

Noctis couldn't even focus on one thing. His eyes wandered around the room, and he barely noticed Ignis as he brushed past to get to the center of the room where Iris and Talcott stood together. All of these people, whether he'd grown up with them or they'd been lifetime soldiers for the crown, their deaths felt like a personal affront to Noctis. Never in his life had he ever felt a grudge like this brewing, but brewing it was. The knot in his stomach drew in tighter, forming into almost into something of a pit. A pit of anger, of fury, at how unfair it was for people to come into his home and tear it apart like this.

In the back of his mind, he was aware that there were people who had it worse than he did. People who _didn't_ have the life that he did. That, however, was easy to brush aside when he felt like he wanted to find every single one of the Nifilian soldiers currently tearing his home apart and set them all on fire like the first one he'd seen.

Finally, his eyes settled on Iris and Talcott—and Ignis, where he was crouched down in front of the sobbing child—and the grudge solidified. The pit hardened, and Noctis had all he could do to stay in place where he stood; not to turn, find that contingent of soldiers on his own, and fight them all himself. He didn't, though. He crossed to the center of the guard chambers and placed a hand on Iris' shoulder.

Immediately, she jumped, and the anger was replaced with guilt. Honestly, it made perfect sense. Of course it did. Iris had seen as much of this mess as he had, and she was used to the same exact lifestyle as he was. Just as Talcott was hugging Ignis now, Iris turned and threw her arms desperately around Noctis' neck, weeping desperately against his shoulder. Noctis hugged her loosely, before casting a glance around the room behind her back and over Ignis and Talcott's heads. More of the same. More of their troops looked like they'd been slaughtered when just going about their normal business.

"I-I..." Iris tried to speak, falling short, then pushing out of the hug to look up at Noctis desperately. "G-Gladdy's on his way to the chambers, Noct. With that Defender and Daddy. The Defender said that there was something weird about Captain Drautos. Th-that he wasn't acting like himself. They sent me to look for you, and I found Talcott and-"

Nodding once, Noctis turned to look at Ignis and Iris. "You two should take Talcott and get out of here," he told them. "Whatever is going on, it doesn't concern you..." And he really, really didn't want them to die.

Ignis was the first to shake his head no, though. "Noctis, pardon me if I overstep here, but you are hardly speaking to a group who can't defend themselves. Iris and I are perfectly capable of assisting you and you know it," he insisted, standing staunchly.

"Yeah!" Iris agreed. "And you're wrong if you think it doesn't concern us, too! This is our home just as much as it is yours. Th-these people... they're our family, too. R-right? So if these Nifilian jerks want to come in and try and take everything, isn't it up to _all_ of us to fight back if we can? Especially..." She paused, glancing around the guard chambers and blinking back another onslaught of tears, before looking up and meeting Noctis' eye squarely. "Especially since... the guards can't help."

It was, of course, a double-edged sword. Did Noctis _really_ want to go to his father alone, to find out why and how Drautos was acting so strangely? Did he _really_ want the others to run off, where he didn't _know_ if they were safe? No, he didn't. But he _also_ didn't want them to tag along and run straight into danger headlong with him. That way, he'd be directly responsible for their deaths, if that came to pass. Blinking that thought away, he turned his attention back to Ignis, who looked determined to stay at his side. His eyes wandered to Iris, too, who looked equally unfaltering, even though she had tears in her eyes.

Even Talcott, who was wiping tears from his cheeks, tugged on his sleeve. "Noctis?" he called, his voice still shaking with tears both shed and unshed. "I promise, I'll stay with Iris, okay? And that I'll stay behind everyone if there's fighting. P-please don't make me go..." He still held onto Noctis' sleeve with both hands.

As much as Noctis wanted to say that this was an absolutely terrible idea, looking down at Talcott and the way his eyes shone up at Noctis like the slightest bit of bad news might break him made it hard to say no. He pulled in a heavy breath, then glanced up at Ignis and Iris. A small part of him wanted to try and order them to leave like had with Pelna, but he was almost positive, in this case, that it wouldn't work. They both were and weren't like Pelna in that way. They respected Noctis' family in the same way that Pelna did, certainly. However, Noctis was their peer. That was something that he'd always tried to make sure that they understood. So... he knew it wouldn't work.

Swallowing back the voice in his head that was _still_ telling him to go alone, he met Iris' eye. "Alright. But please, keep an eye on Talcott, Iris," he told her. "And only join the fighting if things look dire."

It more than likely wasn't his place to give fighting orders, especially since Iris had been raised around a father who was in charge of training the Insomnian soldiers for battle, so she probably knew her fair share of battle rules, too. He was going to be damned if he got two of his dearest friends killed, though. So, his eyes went to Ignis instead. "And you stay behind me, please." He was expendable. His friends weren't.

Ignis seemed to want to protest, but he didn't. Instead, he just gripped his daggers a little bit tighter and turned his attention to Iris. "You said your father and Gladio were after Drautos?" he asked.

She nodded. "Drautos went to check on Teyrn Regis and Teyrna Aulea in their chambers, but Daddy said that he was acting very, very strangely. He seemed hesitant to fight the Nifilian soldiers, and when Gladdy tried to tell him that maybe he just didn't want to harm relations, Daddy said that it was something different. Then they told me to come and find you, Noct, and then they ran off."

Noctis frowned. While he was off gallivanting in the city, all of this was going on. Shaking that thought off before it had a chance to take root, he nodded once and turned his head in the direction of his dad's chambers. "I doubt that my father is in his chambers," he told them. "He wouldn't hide out there. He's either in the throne room giving orders to the soldiers, or he's in the front, fighting..." A harrowing thought, in and of itself.

"I was in the throne room with Daddy and Gladdy, when they sent me to get you, Noct. I don't think they're there anymore," Iris told him.

With a shake of his head, Ignis dispelled that concern. "That aside, I do not expect that the Teyrn would go to fight with the soldiers, Noctis. Not until he absolutely had to. I suspect that the only reason he would still be in his chambers is if he was cornered in there unsuspecting. That is not outside of the realm of possibility, however. If Clarus and Gladio are expecting him to be there, I'm inclined to believe them," he admitted.

As much as Noctis wanted to disagree, it was hard. Ignis' logic was sound. If these were Aldercapt's men, it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility that they had managed to catch him off guard. If Aldercapt arrived at the castle a day early, and Noctis' dad was giving the foreign Teyrn a tour of the palace which ended with the private chambers... that would have been a criminally perfect opportunity for Aldercapt to call upon his men to strike. It was likely for the best, too. If what Noctis saw in the front of the castle was any indication, the throne room was likely a treacherous zone.

Not that the route to the private chambers was likely any safer, but at the very least, it wouldn't lead them straight into the apex of all of the fighting.

Pulling in a slow and heavy breath, Noctis nodded his understanding. "Okay," he answered. "We can take the back route, up the stairs by the maid chambers that leads to father's room." As soon as he finished speaking, he took another long and canvassing glance around the room at all of the deaths. No matter what, Noctis swore that every single soldier who lost their lives here would be avenged. Even if it took him the rest of his life.

Before leaving, Noctis glanced sadly around the room, his eyes falling upon a weapon rack in the far corner. Along with being adept at magic, Noctis' father had ensured that he knew how to protect himself in a straight up fight, and he'd been trained to use longswords and rapiers. From the rack, he took a rapier in his right hand and tested its weight. It wasn't his own; that was in his room, in his armoire. How many times had his father warned him to have it somewhere more accessible? It didn't matter, he guessed. For now, the one he had in his hand would do. It wasn't exactly the same weight as his usual rapier, but for now, it would serve its purpose. He watched Iris gather a pair of gauntlets and slide them on, before nodding to his friends and then leaving the bloody guard chambers.

The path to the living quarters was less quiet than Noctis had hoped it to be. They'd taken to the shadows as much as they could which, all things considered, really wasn't a whole lot. The path, while shorter, didn't provide much by way of cover, and Noctis had been forced to fire a blast of flame at a pair of soldiers who caught them the very second they made it up the stairs by the maid chambers.

When he heard them calling out for backup and announcing a take no prisoners attitude, that was when the severity of the situation hit him. He'd had an idea, of course, having seen the bodies of all of their soldiers littering the lower floors, but hearing the words, knowing that the _intention_ was to kill everyone inside of the castle, turned it into a very vicious reality. It also took away the qualms he had about fighting them off. For now, at least. Perhaps he would feel it later, but at the moment, the rush of battle adrenaline was too strong, and he was using it to fuel him as the backup arrived.

Magic wasn't enough, and Noctis and Ignis ended up squaring off against a pair of guards, who were armed with the same white armor as all the others. Their movements were jerky and strange, not exactly human, though Noctis could clearly see human faces and bodies in the spots that weren't covered with armor. The oddity that was their movement, however, provided Noctis with exactly what he needed to gain the upper hand, especially when Ignis jumped in to fight at his side. He sincerely wanted his friend to stay out of the fighting, but when _another_ trio of soldiers arrived, Noctis realized that having him there was for the best. Two, perhaps, he could take alone. A third, though, was a little bit much.

It was only when _Iris_ jumped into the fight that he considered protesting. When a glance over his shoulder told him that Talcott was safely away from combat, all Noctis could allow himself to do was hope that no one snuck up behind them and took him away.

Truthfully, the three of them together proved very quickly to be too much for the soldiers to take, and they'd ended up winning the battle with very limited injuries. Ignis and Noctis both had sustained a couple of scratches, but other than that, they were both okay. Iris, too, came out on the other hand completely unscathed. A mild healing spell—the unfortunate limit to Noctis' healing abilities—saw to it that everyone was back in fighting shape.

To Noctis' surprise, he felt Talcott tugging on his sleeve again almost immediately. Fortunately, he didn't jump on the defensive. He turned to look at the boy, who held a satchel in his hand. "Here," he said, offering Noctis the satchel. "I just remembered that Miss Monica gave me this. It's got potions and poultices in it, so that you don't have to use your magic too much in front of the bad guys."

Against his volition, Noctis smiled a gentle smile and reached his hand down to gently ruffle Talcott's hair. "Thanks, Talcott," he told the boy, before accepting the satchel and offering it out to Ignis. His friend was trained in medicine, and it always fell to him to tend to the injuries that the group of them sustained when fighting.

When Ignis put the satchel over his shoulder, the four of them continued down the hallway. Fortunately, there were a few more places to hide properly along their path—supply closets and corners to make themselves disappear around for long enough for the jerkily-moving soldiers to pass—and the rest of their trek to the royal chambers went far smoother.

The door to the main corridor was usually closed, whether there was someone resting there or not. If there was, it was closed so that no one would disturb the people resting inside. If it wasn't, the doors were closed because what was inside that room was meant to stay private, and away from prying eyes. Seeing it ajar shouldn't have been as jarring as it was to Noctis. It wasn't like it was the first time he'd ever seen the door open at all. Whenever the maids were cleaning in there, they usually left it open. Sometimes, it was open because someone just forgot to close it. Though the latter didn't exactly happen often. It was uncommon enough for all four of Noctis, Ignis, Iris, and Talcott to stare at the door in wide-eyed surprise, though.

Looking at the door was less surprising than hearing what was happening on the other side.

Someone was shouting. Someone was barking commands and another someone was shouting back exclamations of disbelief. The second voice, the one in disbelief, belonged to Clarus Amicitia; his father's most trusted ally and adviser, and the general of the Insomnian Army; the very army that the Nifilian soldiers had just slaughtered like they hadn't even been trying. The first voice was... eerily familiar. _Terrifyingly_ familiar. Devastatingly familiar, even. Noctis stepped a little bit closer to the door, the blood on the bottom of his shoes from running across the floor having dried to the point that he no longer stuck to the floor.

Every step he took closer, the voice on the other side of the door became clearer. Drautos. The captain of the castle guards, and someone else that Noctis' father had always placed an incredible amount of trust in. Noctis had never really thought anything particularly strange about the man. It wasn't even strange to him that Drautos was a dwarf in charge of castle security. The man had never really shown Noctis that he was anything but trustworthy; had never given any outward reason for Noctis not to have the utmost faith in him.

However, when he finally reached the door and reached out to place a hand on it, the words he heard shouted—not by Drautos, and not by _Clarus_ , even, but by Pelna—shook him completely, straight down to his core.

"You _killed_ the Teyrna!"

Noctis completely froze in place, almost as though his body was made of solid ice. Drautos had killed the Teyrna. His mother. Drautos... had killed his mother. No. No, that was impossible. His mother was hardly defenseless. She was perfectly capable of defending herself with most types of weapon, so maybe Pelna was just... wrong. Noctis hadn't seen it with his own eyes yet, but it was possible that Pelna wasn't clear with what he was seeing. It was possible. It had to be possible.

Ignis was looking at him, green eyes as wide as dinner plates. Elven eyes were always a little bit wider than human eyes, but Ignis', in the moment, were open as wide as they could possibly be. Panic and worry had Noctis thinking that Ignis believed what Pelna was saying. Not that Pelna was a _liar_ or anything... but he just had to have seen it wrong. Right? Noctis swallowed thickly, before moving a little bit closer to the door to open it. Once again, he froze in place when Drautos' voice overtook the room again.

"No," the man, who had never really sounded like the most _pleasant_ conversationalist, sounded like his voice was made of pure venom in the moment. "No, no. You see, you're mistaken. I'm a dwarf, after all. We Galahdians, save for our human residents anyway, are completely incapable of magic. As far as anyone will know, Teyrn Caelum here will have killed his loving wife, before ending his own life. A tragically sad ending to the Caelum line, don't you think?"

No. Noctis felt himself breaking free of the ice that froze him in place, and he pushed the door open. He could feel Ignis reaching out to stop him, but he couldn't. He couldn't just sit there and let this happen.

The door opened just in time for Noctis to see Drautos slice out with his sword, catching Pelna in the chest and sending him into a heap on the ground. Pelna's cry of agony when the sword impacted echoed through the otherwise silent room, and Noctis completely froze in place. Talcott had his face buried in the bustles of Iris' dress, which fortunately shielded him from the sight, but it couldn't shield him from the sound.

Pelna was dead, and when Noctis scanned the room, he saw his father standing in front of his mother, who was in a heap on the ground behind him. She wasn't moving. It didn't even look like she was breathing. Her dress was singed, her hair was singed... she hadn't been burned to a crisp, but she had obviously been hit with fire magic. Clarus and Gladio stood protectively in front of Noctis' father, Cor knelt on the ground next to Pelna, checking him for vital signs. There were several people fighting on their side, but truthfully, it didn't really matter too much. The sheer volume of Nifilian soldiers in the room was staggering. Even with their jerky movements, all they would need to do was close in on the group, and they would be in trouble.

Even Noctis and his friends weren't enough to bolster their numbers. Drautos and his group of Nifilian soldiers outnumbered them by three times easily, and there were more outside of the room, too, walking the castle and slaughtering people like they owned the place. Noctis was coming to the miserable realization that it was highly likely that no one was going to make it out of this.

In the chaos, his father's eyes found Noctis', but before he could speak, Drautos followed his gaze. He turned, glancing through the crowd at Noctis, and huffed a laugh. "Ah. How serendipitous this situation has become," he spoke, an eerie calm in his voice. "I had wondered if the young Lord's habit of roaming the Insomnian streets with the common folk would force me to miss his demise. Fortune seems to have brought you back just in time, though, hm? Come forth, Lord Noctis. Join your father. Else all your friends will be slaughtered before your very eyes."

As if obeying Drautos' command, a small contingent of the soldiers in the room stepped forward, appearing at either of Noctis' sides. One of them took advantage of the lack of grasp he seemed to have on the situation, his momentary confusion, to take his rapier away. The other wrenched his arm behind his back, pushing him forward with more eerie and jerking movements, through the rest of the crowd. Several more guards followed, grabbing Ignis, Iris, and Talcott and tugging them along behind Noctis.

The soldiers carrying Noctis threw him to the ground, his body landing atop his mother's body. Horror had him sliding away, and then backward until his back hit the closed door to his parents' bedroom. From here, he could _definitely_ see that his mother wasn't breathing anymore. She was dead. She was... dead, and in front of her, his father was hunched forward, bleeding profusely from his chest and stomach, barely able to keep together. His mother was dead and his father was dying. Despair warred with fury in his mind. The instinct to attack warred with the instinct to sink further into devastation, and for now, all he could do was narrow his eyes, shooting his head up so that he was glaring at Drautos.

"I would ask you for any last words, but I fear that they would be relatively pointless. You can rest easy, Lord Caelum, knowing that your beloved land was promised to Galahd."

No. No, there was no way. There was no way that Noctis was going to allow this to happen. Except, before he got the chance to do anything, his father staggered to his feet. Noctis hurried to his feet as well, reaching out like he feared that his father would fall. Except, falling wasn't the problem. It was... arguably worse. A blood red magical aura floated from his feet and up to the wound in his stomach. Immediately, all eyes in the room were on him.

Noctis knew, of course, of blood magic. Blood magic was the type of magic that fed on the life energy of the caster and the people around them. Strictly forbidden, extremely immoral, and horrifically illegal, it wasn't something commonly practiced by mages in Insomnia, at least as far as Noctis was aware. He knew that any mage was _capable_ of it, of course. All that a mage needed was to shed blood, and they had access to endlessly untapped power as long as they were still alive. However, carrying it out never came without a tremendous cost.

Blood magic was one of the things that his father had always warned him of when teaching him to harness and control his magic. He'd always borderline drilled the idea into Noctis' head, that he didn't want to fall prey to blood magic. That, in his younger years, he'd tried a couple of blood magic spells and then sworn off it for the rest of his life. The red aura, however, was unmistakable. Though his skin was pale and each breath he took very shallow, he was using whatever remained of his strength to call forth the blood magic aura.

"Regis, no!" Clarus cried out, turning his back on Drautos and rushing to Noctis' father's side.

With a commanding expression on his pale face, Noctis' father looked at Clarus, shaking his head. "Cor. Clarus. Take the children to my chambers. Escape. Get them out of here, bring them to Altissia, and deliver the news to Teyrna Claustra and Grand Enchanter Armaugh." As he spoke, several of the soldiers nearest to Noctis were wrapped in the same red aura. It swirled around them, and Noctis stared wide-eyed, as combat started amongst the Nifilian soldiers. They fought each other ruthlessly, like lifelong enemies, and several of them even advanced on Drautos, who hurriedly escaped out a nearby window.

Another argument formed on Clarus' lips, but Regis silenced it with a pointed look. Instead, Clarus nodded a single nod and said, "as you will, my lord."

Noctis shook his head no. He was not going to leave his father here alone. "Father, I'll-"

"No!" Regis commanded. "Go. Go, Noctis. Bring news of what you've seen here today to all of the rest of the nobility of Eos, and ensure that they know exactly what Niflheim did. And whatever you do, I want you to promise me that you will survive. That whatever you do, you will not give in."

Though Noctis still tried to rush forward, to join his father and help him, he felt a solid arm around his waist and looked over his shoulder to see Gladio pulling him toward the door to his father's chambers. He fought for a couple of seconds, but when he realized that he wasn't going to win, he turned to look at his father desperately. "I won't! I promise! P-please, father, please!" he cried out.

Another flare of blood magic overtook several more of the Nifilian soldiers, and Regis turned to Noctis, nodding once. "Good. Be strong. Be strong, and walk tall, my son," he declared.

The last thing Noctis recalled seeing before the large wooden door closed behind him was his father, sending out a third wave of strong, powerful blood magic, before teetering, and falling to his knees on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure if I'll complete this. At the very least, I have three more chapters finished after this one, though. :)


	4. Goodbye

Noctis pounded desperately against the wooden door to his parents' chambers. His father was still on the other side. As strong and amazing a mage as his father was... he was facing off against how many soldiers? So many that he'd had to resort to blood magic. Blood magic. The very thing he'd warned Noctis against using, and he was using it to allow them a chance to escape. Noctis pounded on the door until the wood started to splinter his hands, but he didn't care. His father was out there, damn it. There was still a chance, small though it may have been, that his father was still _alive_ out there, and he was expected to just... run away?

No. His father wouldn't run if their roles were reversed. How could he expect Noctis to _willingly_ run away?

As Noctis backed up a couple of steps, he charged up a blast of fire magic in his hand, ready to throw it at the door so that he could get out and help his father again. Except, before he could release the magic from his hands, he felt the same arm that has dragged him away wrap its way back around his chest, break his concentration, and send the magic away in a puff up into the air.

"Stop!" he shouted, fighting against Gladio's grip. "That's my _father_ out there, Gladio! I can't-"

Clarus joined Gladio, waving an order to Ignis and Cor, over in the direction of his father's armoire for some reason, as he walked out in front of Noctis. He put a hand on Noctis' chest, looked him square in the eye and spoke, his tone stern. "Do you think _I_ enjoyed leaving Regis out there, Noctis? I did not. However, his wish was for us to escape. To escape, and to bring words to allies who can assist us."

In a last desperate bid to get out to where his father was, Noctis turned his gaze on Clarus, tear-streaked eyes blurring the man from his vision. "I don't _care_ about allies!" he seethed, shaking his head adamantly. "I don't _care_ Clarus. I want... I want to help my father! If you really want to help my father then _help him_ instead of just doing what he says all the time! You can't help him if he's dead!" His voice sounded every bit the part of the petulant child, and maybe later, he would allow himself to be ashamed of it. For the moment, it was the only thing he could do to help his father on the other side of the door.

The words seemed to be having _some_ kind of effect, because Clarus faltered for a moment, and glanced over his shoulder at the door. Before he could give any sort of order to return, though, the door started shaking, almost like someone was slamming against it with their full force. Were Noctis thinking with the whole of his mind, he likely would have realized that the force of the blows was too strong to be created by his father, but his desperate mind was clinging to _any_ sort of sign that his father was still alive out there. He broke free of Gladio's grip and rushed past Clarus to get to the door, jumping again when the door rattled on its hinges.

"Father! Is that you?"

Clarus spoke up once again. "Noctis, don't be foolish," he insisted, grasping Noctis' shoulder firmly. "That is not your father and if you do not come with us, I will be forced to incapacitate you and drag you along against your will."

Wide-eyed, Noctis stared at the man. It was spoken so casually, so calmly, like it would be easy for him to do. In the back of Noctis' mind, he was aware that it probably _would_ be, but that didn't mean that it wasn't surprising to hear. He met Clarus' eye, the man's expression as unmoving and serious as a stone golem, then blinked dumbly.

"Daddy!" Iris hissed. "Would Regis want-"

Turning to flash a glance at Iris that silenced her where she stood, Clarus turned his attention back to Noctis again. "Regis would _want_ us to use the secret door that Ignis and Cor just opened to escape. That was what he requested of us, and Regis was nothing if not a man who knew what he wanted." Was. Clarus seemed _so sure_ that Noctis' dad was dead.

Noctis opened his mouth to question that fact, but before he could even get the words out, he jumped back when a giant greataxe swung into the door, breaking through a seam in the wood and almost striking both Clarus and Noctis. That, more than anything, made realization sink in. If there was any chance that his father was alive, none of the soldiers would have ever made it close to the door. His father didn't use a greataxe. All that was left out there... were Nifilian soldiers.

Realization drooped his shoulders, and he felt even more tears springing to his eyes, but before misery could completely take hold, another axe strike hit the door and cut a chunk out of it. Noctis could see very limited bits of the corridor in front of the private chambers, but what he _did_ see was... nothing but a melee of Nifilian soldiers rushing the door and trying to get in now that it was cracked. That, more than anything else, was what finally made him storm forward and up to the open door behind his dad's armoire. He stepped back before entering, reaching _into_ the armoire first and pulling his father's rapier from the weapon rack in the back.

Before he closed the armoire, he gathered some black robes that his father always wore when he had to go somewhere dangerous. They were enchanted for defense, but more importantly, they held the Caelum family crest on them. He draped the robes over his arm, put the sword in his belt, and then turned to the others.

"Let's go." His voice was quiet, barely audible, but the way they all hurried into the tunnel behind the armoire told him that they heard it loud and clear.

Noctis had never known about this tunnel, truthfully. Maybe he should have looked around, but he couldn't bring himself to care. It was dark and dismal, lit only by the fire magic that Cor and Clarus asked Noctis to conjure into his hand. They rushed through the snaking tunnel, running around corners and down a flight of stairs, until it spit them out in the same cellar that he'd entered the castle from not too long ago with Pelna. The thought of Pelna had him raising his eyes in the general direction of the private chambers, but just as quickly, he shook it off and lit the wall sconce that he'd lit before, lighting the room up.

The bulkhead door was closed but not locked, which Clarus marveled at for a moment. "Has someone been through here recently?"

With a simple nod, Noctis answered in an almost monotone voice. "I did. With Pelna. It was how we got into the castle," he murmured, releasing the fire magic in his hand and helping Ignis push one of the cask racks in front of the door. It likely wouldn't have been hard for the soldiers to get out still, but at the very least, this bought them a little bit more time.

The group of them climbed up through the bulkhead, and Noctis was almost physically stunned when he saw Umbra bound toward them from several feet away. The hound stopped at his feet, then sat down, looking up at him with a knowing look on his face. Dismally, he reached down and scratched behind his dog's ears. Another pleasant surprise came in the form of Archdemon, who sprinted from the same area Umbra had come from. Of course they'd waited for him there. Of course they wouldn't run like he asked them to. As much as Noctis _wished_ that he could be angry, he couldn't. His pets were loyal. That was a good thing.

When everyone was out, and while Noctis hugged Archdemon around the neck, he turned to look at Clarus, who was walking up to Cor. The pair of them exchanged unpleasant glances, and then Cor looked at Noctis. "I have more unfortunate news for you. Particularly you, Lord Noctis. Gladiolus, too, but primarily you."

"Just Noctis, please." The manor he would have been Lord of was nothing but a husk now. A pile of smoking rubble that was falling apart at the seams.

Cor nodded once. "Noctis, then. Are you prepared to hear the bad news?" he asked, folding his arms at his chest and then looking from Noctis to the others, focusing finally on Gladio.

With a single nod, Noctis sighed. How much worse could it possibly get? His parents were both dead. His home was in ruins, and now the only living beings inside of the castle walls were Nifilian soldiers. Who knew how much longer it would be before they decided to completely destroy it; before they decided to wipe it off the map?

"Drautos will likely be true to his word," Clarus started the explanation. "He will likely spread the word around town that your family is composed solely of blood mages, Noctis. This likely means that the Circle will come looking for you. For all of us, but especially for you. Iris, Gladiolus, and I are at risk, and so are Ignis and Talcott, but they will either kill you on sight, or take you to the Circle to be made tranquil."

Tranquil. Tranquil were stripped of everything that made them human. They had their emotions taken away from them, along with their magic, until they were nothing but willing subservient shills to the Circle and the chantry. It was... not something that Noctis usually wanted. Being turned into a mindless slave, just because he was a mage, had always seemed terrible and unfair to him.

Most Circle mages, Noctis had heard, went through something called the Harrowing, and if they could pass, they lived captive in the Circle for the rest of their lives. If they failed, _then_ they were made tranquil. Noctis supposed, if Drautos started to spread the word around that Noctis was a blood mage, they'd probably want to pass right by the Harrowing. Especially if they cited what happened at the castle today, but... it still wasn't fair. There still wasn't much that he feared more than having his emotions taken away from him; than becoming a husk like the tranquil were.

While Noctis himself was still too stunned to properly react, it seemed like Iris held none of the same qualms. She shook her head adamantly, pushing her way to the front of the group and standing in front of Clarus. "He _isn't_ a blood mage, though! Noctis hasn't ever done blood magic in his life! If you tell them that he-"

"It won't matter," Noctis interrupted. "It would be my word against Drautos', and we both know that actual blood mages would say just about anything to cover their tracks. So..." So, there wasn't much he could do. It was either submit himself to the Circle, or they hunted him down and killed him on the spot. Honestly, with how he was feeling, being Tranquil didn't sound as horrific as it usually did. If it would allow him not to feel like he was feeling right now, could it _really_ be that bad?

Before he could go any further down that thought rabbit hole, Ignis stepped forward, setting a hand on Iris' shoulder and trying to comfort her with a smile. "I believe Marshal Leonis is here to offer an alternative," he told her in a gentle tone, before turning his eyes to look back at the Defender Commander.

Cor nodded. "I am," he answered.

An alternative? What alternative _was_ there? It wasn't like Noctis had anywhere to run. The soldiers in the castle couldn't be too far behind them, and they'd find the group before too long, and kill them all on the spot, so... what alternative could possibly be out there?

"I'll be frank with you," Cor started, casting his eyes out around the younger group. "These are treacherous times. Between the threat from Niflheim, and the threat of daemon attacks edging ever closer to Lucis, Tenebrae, Accordo, and even _Niflheim_ , we are in dire need of Eventide Defenders to assist us in fighting back. That is our alternative. Whether or not you're a blood mage, Noctis—which we all know that you aren't—you would be safe among the Defenders. You and all of your friends. Blood magic, while not condoned, is not forbidden among our ranks, and any current charges against you would be cleared upon your conscription."

After a pause, during which he glanced out at all of the confused faces looking back at him, he continued. "We would only ask you and Gladiolus to undertake the test to _become_ Defenders, but with you, Iris, Ignis, and Talcott would be safe as well." Cor met Noctis' eye dead on. "I will not force you. However, if it comes down to living or dying, is this not the better option?" he asked.

A Eventide Defender. Noctis could only blink at him, and then turn to look at Gladio, who had been pretty quiet since they'd left the castle. For years, Gladio had wanted to be a Defender. He'd grown up hearing stories from Clarus about how he used to run with Cor and a group of other Defenders. Noctis knew all the stories, too, because he'd heard the very same stories from his father. Cor was requesting flat out, though, for Noctis and Gladio to join their ranks. Gladio had always asked Clarus about the possibility of becoming a Defender, but had always been turned down; told that it wasn't wise, and that it was his duty to watch out for Noctis instead.

Noctis would have asked what was different now, if it wasn't perfectly obvious by everything around them. He and Gladio looked at each other for a few more seconds, and then Gladio turned to look back at Clarus, uncertainty drawing his brows together. "Are you sure, father? You've always told me that-"

"That it is your duty to protect Noctis. As Noctis will be joining the Eventide, if he accepts, I would imagine that to be the best place for you, would you not?" Clarus replied, his voice a equal parts stern and shaken.

It made sense. Noctis knew that he'd been friends with Noctis' father for decades. For almost their whole lives. Similarly to Gladio and Noctis, they had been raised side by side, to be Teyrn and shield. Noctis could only imagine that the sternness was only because he was feeling the loss even harder now that they all stood outside of the castle walls. Noctis certainly was himself.

With a single nod, Gladio looked to Noctis. His expression was a little less than sure, still, when he said, "ultimately, it's your decision, Noct. Be a Defender, or-"

Noctis nodded. "Be Tranquil or dead..." he murmured. "Well..." He turned to look at Cor, shrugging a shoulder. "How would we _become_ Defenders? What would we have to do, I mean? And what would we have to do _after_ that?" His fingers ran idly through Archdemon's feathers, as a way to distract him from the unpleasant choice that ultimately came down to him. It should have been easy, but he also knew, through the stories that he'd heard from his father and from Clarus, that being a Defender wasn't always the easiest thing in the world, either. So, it wasn't an easy decision.

"The ceremony is a time-honored secret," Cor explained, his expression stern like there was no way that he could be convinced to share it. "I can't share the details. Not until you agree, and not until we get to Cauthess."

That sounded... less than appealing, honestly. Still, the decision still came down to Tranquil, dead, or Defender. The choice was a hard one made simple, and he turned to look at Gladio. His friend had wanted this for a long time, and admittedly, that was the major factor that played into it when he turned to look at Cor and said, "alright. We'll join you. I don't... I have no desire to go to the Circle, and it isn't as though I have a world of other options at the moment. Plus... Gladio..." He turned to look at Gladio, cracking the ghost of a smile—one that he didn't really feel—and continuing. "He's always wanted to be a Defender. So..." He finished with a one-shouldered shrug.

Clarus stepped forward, placing a hand on Noctis' shoulder and nodding a somber nod. "Were there any other options, I would have told you. I really do... I wish that it hadn't come to this, Noctis. I wish that-"

Noctis looked down for a brief moment, before turning to look back up at Clarus and finishing, "that Niflheim hadn't invaded? That my father hadn't died...?" with sadness in his eyes.

It had been a very, very long time since Clarus hugged him. Likely since he was a child. It took him by complete and total surprise when the man reached out with strong arms and tugged him in for an almost bone-crushing hug. "I absolutely wish that your father hadn't died," he insisted. "I wish that none of this were reality, but if wishes were realities, we would probably all live on cloud nine." The comment was punctuated with a harsh, single note of laughter.

The laughter brought a return tight laugh from Noctis, and he nodded his head. "I know that eventually I will come to thank you for saving me back there," he told Clarus. "Not today, and likely not tomorrow, unless this Defender ceremony is some magical elixir that removes all bad memories and makes you irreversibly happy." A vague attempt at a joke, though it wasn't really all that funny.

Clarus nodded his understanding. "I know," he answered. "But you are correct. You will thank me someday."

When Clarus broke free of the hug, he glanced at the rest of the group, and then at Cor. "You should know that... that I will not be joining you on your journey to Cauthess." He shook his head no, and looked particularly at his two children. Iris and Gladio's expressions both held varying degrees of surprise.

"What do you mean?" Iris asked, pushing to the front again and stopping in front of Clarus. "You mean the rest of us are going with you, and then Gladdy and Noct are going with Marshal Leonis, right? Because-"

Clarus shook his head no, though. "No, Iris. A part of the reason why Marshal Leonis came to us today was to let us know about some trouble in the Altissian Circle. So, while the rest of you go to Cauthess, and while Noctis and Gladio undertake the ceremony to become Eventide Defenders, I will go assess the situation in Altissia. Then, once everything is said and done, the group of you will participate in a battle to defend their gates, and then come to join me in Altissia." His tone was very matter-of-fact, like he was leaving nothing up for debate. Like everything had already been decided.

When Ignis stepped forth, placing a hand on Iris' shoulder, he spoke in a calm voice as he said, "I suspect that this would have been taking place even if we weren't attacked. Your father would have been sent to Altissia, even if the castle stood in one piece. Am I incorrect?" he asked, turning his attention to Clarus.

In response, Clarus shook his head no. "You are not incorrect, Ignis," he explained. "Initially, it was Regis' intent to come with me. He was planning on leaving Noctis and Aulea in charge of ensuring that Teyrn Aldercapt's visit went off without a hitch, but..." He trailed off, glancing over at Noctis.

"That's not a problem anymore." Noctis' voice was dripping with sarcasm, as he turned to look at Iris, Ignis, and Talcott. "What about Talcott, though?" he asked, turning back to look at Cor with concern in his eyes. "Iris and Ignis are capable of fighting, sure, but I'd rather not have Talcott in the middle of any fight that he doesn't have to be in the middle of." No more fights in general, that was short for. He was sure that the rest of the group agreed with him there, too.

Cor nodded his head. "Talcott will be cared for," he promised. "We have a small medical tent at Cauthess Fortress. So long as Talcott doesn't mind helping, he can stay there."

The eagerness with which Talcott shook his head in response brought a small smile to Noctis' face. "I don't mind! I can do whatever they need me to do! Bring supplies to the doctors, or potions to the healer mages... whatever they need!" he answered, rushing up to stand beside Iris in the front of the group.

In spite of himself; in spite of the situation, Noctis managed a soft laugh as he ruffled Talcott's hair gently. "I... is there no way we can convince you to come along with us, Uncle Clarus?" he asked. Regardless of how upset he was that Clarus wouldn't let him bust through the door to help his father, the thought of Uncle Clarus leaving on his own to go to Altissia was just as unappealing. Especially since he was the closest thing any of them had to a parent anymore.

He wasn't surprised when Clarus shook his head no. "Loath as I am to leave my children behind, I'm sure that we'll meet again in Altissia," he insisted, moving from Noctis to clap a hand to Gladio's shoulder, and place the other on Iris' cheek.

Noctis frowned, looking up at the castle. From this side, it was hard to tell that the place had been all but destroyed in the attack. The wall looked to be in pristine condition; undamaged except for the broken window up on the third floor where Drautos had jumped. Noctis was acutely aware, of course, that the man likely hadn't gone far. He may have been just outside of the area, hiding in brush and listening to the whole conversation. That wouldn't have surprised Noctis in the slightest. His eyes cast around suspiciously, and fell back upon his friends, just in time to see Clarus pull Gladio, Iris, _and_ Ignis into a hug.

"Take care of each other, my children. I fully expect all three of you-" He paused, reaching out for Noctis to pull him into the embrace and motioning for Talcott to join, too- "all _five_ of you, that is, to be in one piece when we meet again. Are we clear?" he asked.

Iris mumbled promises, and worries, into her father's chest. She promised to make sure that 'none of the boys did anything dumb,' and that 'no matter what, she'd always run if things got too dangerous,' but finished it up with an, "as long as _you_ promise to still be okay when we find you again! Because it's not fair to make us promise to be in one piece if you're not gonna do the same!" She looked up at him, her eyes lined with tears and the makeup on her face running down her cheeks as she regarded her father.

With a little smirk, Gladio nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm with the Moogle here, dad. It's not fair to expect _us_ to always kick ass, take names, and be okay on the other side if you don't promise us that you'll do the same," he agreed, pulling back from the hug.

Clarus laughed a fond laugh at his children, clapping Gladio on the shoulder now that the hug was done and running the fingers on the other hand through Iris' hair. "Come now, children. We're Amicitias. Wouldn't you say that it takes a little more than a castle siege and a trip to the Altissian circle to take us down?" His tone was cocky, though there was a layer of knowledge in his eyes, like there was something that he knew that he wasn't telling them. Something layered behind everything else that they _did_ know, hiding something that they _didn't_ quite know yet.

It made Noctis nervous, but it seemed like he and Ignis were the only ones who caught it. Iris and Gladio had much the same complex as Noctis did about their father. They'd seen him as an invincible force; someone who couldn't be shaken or forced to kneel no matter what came his way. Noctis now knew that not to be the truth about _his_ father, regardless of how difficult it was to accept. Regardless of how hard it was for him to think of what had just happened in the castle. With all of his heart, with every piece of him that wasn't currently mourning the loss of his home, Noctis wished and hoped that his friends wouldn't have to endure the pain that he was going through right now. They'd already done it years ago when they lost their mother. They deserved to have their father with them, still.

Breathing in a heavy breath, and then letting it out in a steady puff, Noctis watched as Clarus said his goodbyes to his children. Iris clung to him a little bit longer in the hug than he probably would have wanted her to, but he didn't complain. He simply hugged her back just as tightly. Gladio got a hug as well, and Noctis was reasonably sure that he could count on one hand the times that the Amicitia men had hugged. Over half of them had happened that day, too. Ignis was next, and Clarus whispered a gentle request in his ear.

When the embrace broke, Noctis watched him nod his head and say, "Yes, sir. I will make sure of it, I promise." Watching elven eyes well up with tears was a very strange thing, but they were just as susceptible to emotions as anyone else was.

Talcott was next. Clarus lifted him from the ground, hugging him tightly and jokingly telling him, "don't cause Iris too much panic, you little troublemaker," with a fond but sad smile on his face.

"I won't!" Talcott promised, with his arms around Clarus' neck. The boy was crying just as hard as he had been in the guard chambers, and it made complete and total sense. Everything in his life had just been turned on its head, and he was far too young to truly understand the implications behind what was going on.

Before Noctis was even aware of what was happening, Clarus had set Talcott on the ground and approached him, hugging him tightly. "Take care of my children, Noctis. Ignis, too, okay?" he asked.

Noctis nodded, reaching his arms up to hug Clarus back. "I will, Uncle Clarus," he promised.

The embrace tightened just a little, and Clarus murmured, "and remember what your father's last words to you were. Remember to walk tall, Noctis. No matter what happens." He pulled back from the hug, looking Noctis square in the eye and patting him on the cheek with his hand. "Can you promise me that?" he asked, loudly enough for everyone else around to hear him.

Another nod, and Noctis answered, "I promise, Uncle Clarus," in a strangled voice.

"Good." Clarus released Noctis from the hug and stepped back. "I will see you all in Altissia." He paused, clapping Cor on the shoulder and whispering something into his ear.

Cor nodded, clapped Clarus back, and murmured his own goodbye. The six of them stood, at the peak of the Insomnian hills, staring down at the smoking wreckage that was once Insomnia. Noctis hadn't realized, until then, that the soldiers had been attacking the city as well. His heart sank further as he watched Clarus walk down toward the smoldering ruins of the city; the smoldering ruins of his home. He clung a little bit tighter to Archdemon's reins, and choked back another swell of emotion.

In that moment, Noctis Lucis Caelum was acutely aware that his life would never be the same again.


	5. Caelum

It took more than three days to get from Insomnia to The Nebulawood. Three long days of trudging through desert, through forests, through the Longwythe Mountains... Noctis was reasonably sure that in the span of those three days, he'd seen every sort of weather that Eos had to offer. He'd barely gotten a wink of sleep over any of the three days; there was just too much running through his mind all at once to allow him to sleep well. Too much new information. His father was a blood mage, who had killed himself to keep them safe. His family name was shamed. Drautos was determined to set their reputation ablaze, put the only remaining Lucis Caelum left in the world into the Circle, to either die or be made Tranquil.

Too much. It was too much at once to sleep. He tried each night; Gladio had set up a tent for him to share with Talcott every time that they stopped, but... sleep only came in short bursts. He would crawl out of the tent and sit next to the fire, with Archdemon and Umbra to keep him company—and occasionally to keep him warm when the night got a little bit chillier—while he waited for everyone to awaken the next morning. Ignis was always first, and he would sit and talk with Noctis while he went through their provisions and made breakfast. Gladio would join them, and then Cor.

Iris always got up next and woke Talcott last. He was young. It was likely easier for him to sleep than the others.

According to Cor the night prior, they were one day out from Cauthess Fortress now. This would be their last night camping. Again, Noctis awoke shortly after falling asleep. Talcott still slept soundly, this time with Umbra curled up next to him. It was the only way he'd been able to fall asleep the night before, because he explained that his mind was too plagued with terrifying thoughts about what had happened in Insomnia. So, Noctis had called Umbra in, and promised Talcott that the dog would keep him safe while he slept. Talcott had his fingers buried in the dog's fur and his head resting against the dog's stomach, sleeping soundly.

As Noctis crawled from the tent, Umbra awoke, raising his head and looking at his master like he was considering joining him on his way out of the tent. Noctis shook his head, shushed the hound, and told him with a hand gesture to go back to sleep. "I promised Talcott that you would keep him safe," he offered with a weak smile. He only pushed the tent open when Umbra did as he asked.

When knees hit the dirt outside of the tent, he realized that the clothing he'd been wearing since the day of the attack desperately needed a wash. He still had his family's ancestral robes, which he could easily change into, but a part of him was a little bit anxious. If his name was being dragged through the mud, then was it really wise to put them on? Groping hands found his pack where it rested next to the tent. The memory of Insomnia as they walked through it sprang to his mind as he opened the top. The city was a ruin now. The seamstress' shop was almost completely obliterated, the bakery was still on fire, and the butcher shop was half crumbling to the ground. What was worse was the fact that there was no one left. Even the stall where, just moments before everything went to hell, Noctis had bought his fishing pole, was empty.

Everyone had either run for it, or been killed.

They'd managed to gather enough supplies to last them to the first town. The leatherworker's shop had left behind enough for them each to have their own satchel, as well as armor for Ignis and Iris. The smithy had a few chipped and cracked weapons that had somehow been strewn around in the chaos. One of them—a dagger for Ignis—had managed to fly a hundred yards away and land in the outer wall of someone's home. There were no staves for Noctis, but that was fine. He could use the rapier and magic at the same time.

One of the few moments that was filled with relief instead of devastation was when they got to the local chocobo porter, and there were still two dozen chocobos in the stables unharmed. Scarred and terrified, but unharmed. They took enough to transport them—minus one for Noctis, because he still had Archdemon—and let the rest go free outside of Insomnia. What they'd seen that day must have been scarring, because the second they'd been let loose, then ran for the woods and didn't look back. While Noctis wasn't sure if they were _safe_ there, it was better than starving to death in a stable.

At least there, they had a chance.

Now, Archdemon had more feathered friends, too. Except, the bird still opted to spend her time consoling Noctis and keeping him company, which Noctis attributed to their strong bond. The bird was fiercely loyal to him, in a way that he'd never seen from a chocobo before. An amusing memory arose as he glanced across their camp at Archdemon, who was walking across to join him as he sat next to the fire, crossing his legs at the ankle and butterflying his knees outward. He thought back to several years ago, when he'd first gotten her and Gladio had tried to ride her. She'd thrown him back and into the chocobo water trough, then ran straight to Noctis' side. When she arrived at his side, he ran his fingers through the feathers on her neck.

"What do you think, girl? Do you think I should wear the robes?" he asked her. "On the one hand, my name will likely be something people expect me to be ashamed of. On the other hand, I'm not." He glanced at the robes where he held them. "I know what we were about, you know?" His fingers traced the family crest wistfully. "I know that my father wasn't _always_ a blood mage. I know that... I know that he wanted me to walk tall."

After a few silent seconds, a soft voice came from behind him. "I think you should wear them." Iris walked slowly across the grass, lowering herself down into the dirt nearby. "I think... Drautos wanted you to be ashamed of who you are, but you shouldn't. Because your dad was a hero. He died to save all of us." She glanced at the robes in Noctis' hands. "Plus. They're really pretty." She chuckled softly.

Noctis glanced down at the robes again. The leather was still pristine, and he knew that they'd been in his family for ages. Generations. Millennia, almost. The blue patterns were made of silk, and the crest was adorned with lapis lazuli, as well as the buttons and the various adornments. They really were impressive robes. His father had worn them when he was younger, as had his grandfather and his great grandfather... as far back as history recorded.

Turning to look at Iris, he shrugged a shoulder. "It may put us at risk," he explained.

"We're at risk anyway, Noct. It isn't like we're not known names. Gladdy and me are probably on as many wanted lists as you for 'supporting blood magic,' and Iggy would be in trouble anyway, since he's an elf and people automatically assume that all elves know some level of magic." She huffed in annoyance, glancing back at the tent that Ignis and Gladio shared.

Noctis looked down at the fire, frowning. "I'm sorry I dragged you all down with me," he muttered.

But Iris shook her head no. "You think there's anywhere any of us would rather be, Noct? We're a family. I don't care what may or may not have happened. You and Gladdy and Iggy are my brothers. My best friends. If they wanna take you to the circle, they're gonna have to go through me." She brushed an errant bit of grass from her armor, then looked at him. "I'm serious. We're in this together, okay? You're not alone. No matter how much it seems that way."

As he ran his fingers through Archdemon's feathers, he looked down at the robes again. "And you really think I should wear these?" he asked her.

She nodded eagerly. "I do. I think if you do, your dad will be so proud. And so will mine when we see him again," she punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Plus. You gotta get out of those robes. They're starting to smell like stinky boy smell, and at least that way, Iggy and me can wash 'em." She made a face.

Stinky boy smell. Noctis couldn't help but laugh a little bit at that thought as he pushed himself up to his feet. "Alright. It might not remove my 'stinky boy smell' since I'll still be wearing the same small clothes, but... it's something."

"Ew!" Iris gagged. "Please, Noct. I have literally _no_ desire to think about your sweaty, three-day small clothes." She shuddered dramatically, shooing him away from her. "Go. I don't wanna watch you change, either." This time, she was smiling an amused smile as she turned toward the fire and held her hands out over it.

Noctis walked over behind the tent he'd been sharing with Talcott, unfolding the robes and draping them over the back. He smirked. Built in small clothes. It was a little strange, but Iris was right. His old ones were really looking dirty. Stripping completely naked—which, while in the forest wasn't exactly his favorite thing in the world—he changed out his old robes, the silken ones that his mother had sewn for him, for the ancestral ones. Honestly, as he pulled the trousers up and fastened them properly, he had to marvel at how well they fit. It was almost as though they'd been properly tailored for his body. There was very little give as he fastened the lapis adorned belt on the black velveteen trousers (with magical built-in small clothes).

The shirt as well, a finely crafted shirt made of dragon leather and decorated with lapis buckles, fit him perfectly. It only hung at all where it seemed like it was supposed to. In ornamental places. It hugged his body, but was easy to move in. Comfortable. The Caelum family crest sat on his chest, and Noctis raised his hands, drawing his fingers along it and breathing in deeply.

"I'll walk tall, father. I won't let them ruin your reputation. I don't care what it takes."

Stepping out from behind the tent, he expected to just see Iris sitting there, but at some point while Noctis changed, Ignis and Gladio had joined her. Ignis was the first to spot Noctis, and a smile slowly found its way across his face. For the first time since they'd left Insomnia, Noctis genuinely felt like he had a reason to smile back. He still wasn't okay. He still didn't feel like he would be okay for a long time. With the robes on, though, he felt a little bit closer to the world he was leaving behind; a little bit safer. A little bit stronger.

Ignis called out to him, bringing Gladio and Iris' attention with him. "You know, Noct," he started, "when you started training, your father had those robes tailored to fit you. Each year, as you grew, he took them to the seamstress down in Insomnia and had them changed to fit your current size. He was waiting for you to be ready for them. It's very serendipitous that you managed to find yourself drawn to them in his armoire like you did." The smile on his elven friend's face was wide and pleased.

To his right, Gladio nodded too as he fed Archdemon and a couple of the other chocobos some krakka roots. "Yeah. The rapier you took, too. I heard him telling my father that he was waiting for the right time to give it to you. I'm sorry he never got the chance." As soon as he finished speaking, one of the other chocobos nudged him for another helping of roots. Noctis couldn't help but laugh a little bit at that.

"So, he was looking for the right time to give it to me, and then, all of a sudden, I find myself drawn to it on my own," Noctis murmured, crossing the campsite to join Iris and Ignis at the fire.

Humming a fond note, Ignis warmed his bare feet. "Destiny is an odd thing," he answered. "You can feel like you're disconnected from it as much as you want to. You can feel like you're not fit to be the Teyrn until your face turns blue. When push comes to shove, though, you prove yourself wrong." He looked Noctis over.

Gladio nodded. "The robes look right on you, man," he added.

Noctis huffed a gentle laugh. "They feel right," he admitted. "Though I still don't know about the 'meant to be Teyrn thing. Not like there's much left for me to be Teyrn of..."

The sadness in the air around the campfire was almost a visible wave, and Noctis sighed as he sat down. It was his fault. Every time they found some kind of happiness over the past few days, he brought the mood back down with a reminder of everything that had gone wrong. He glanced over at Archdemon, who had broken away from Gladio's feeding session and come to his side again. The bird nudged his shoulder, then lay down next to him, resting her head in his lap.

Noctis had to laugh, because the angle looked awkward, but she didn't seem like she was uncomfortable at all. He brushed his hands along her neck, then raised his head and glanced around at his friends again. "Sorry, guys. Archdemon is pretty determined not to let me be too sad for too long." The group of them managed a small laugh as she made a gentle cooing noise in his lap. Not her usual spirited 'kweh,' but it was enough to pull everyone's mood up.

"I have to admit," Gladio muttered, as he stepped away from the chocobos and sat down between Ignis and Iris, "I'm really stoked to see what the Fortress looks like. Remember the stories that our dads told us, Noct? About when they went there forever ago?"

With a sad smile, Noctis nodded his head. "I still don't know who thought it was a good idea to put a fortress inside the Disc, especially with all the stories you hear about it being dangerous on its own, but I guess if there are so many Eventide Defenders in there, it must be at least somewhat safe, right?"

Much to their surprise, the voice that responded wasn't Gladio. Cor, who had ducked out of his tent a few seconds before, looked around the group of them and nodded his head. "It's the most secure place in all of Eos, actually. Being inside of a mountain makes it impossible to breach the walls, and the gates are very defensible. There's a place for everyone there, even people who aren't Defenders." He looked to Iris and Ignis specifically. "Ignis, I hear that you're quite the cook, so I'll put you to work in the kitchens. And Iris, you can either go with him or go and help Talcott in the medical center." He didn't sit next to them at the fire, instead he stretched his arms over his head and tried to work nighttime tension from his muscles.

Noctis hummed softly. "I'm guessing you probably still can't tell Gladio and me what we'll be doing..." he questioned.

"No," Cor snapped. "You will find out soon enough. For now, I suggest that we start preparing for departure, since we're all awake anyway."

Swallowing nervously, Noctis nodded his head and stood from where he'd been sitting on the ground. Cor was a very stern man. He was kind, sure, but he was quite obviously no-nonsense. As curious as Noctis was, he decided that, until they got to Cauthess, he wouldn't ask any further questions about what he'd need to do to become a defender. Iris walked over to the tent and busied herself with waking Talcott, while Gladio started taking the tents apart. Ignis got to work making a simple breakfast, and Noctis walked over toward the chocobos, to get them packed and ready to leave.

A few seconds passed, and Cor approached, placing a hand on Noctis' shoulder. "I apologize for snapping back there, but there is much that you can't possibly understand about the Defenders until you get to the fortress, Noctis," he offered, as he took several of the saddle bags from the ground and started attaching them to the further chocobos.

Turning his head to look at Cor, Noctis nodded. He wanted to say that he understood, but the whole point of this conversation was the fact that he _didn't_ understand. That there was a lot that he couldn't possibly understand, so he brushed his hands along Archdemon's feathers instead and then allowed a tiny smile to creep across his face when Umbra appeared at his side.

"It's okay," Noctis answered simply. "I'm just... I wish we could know more. I..."

Cor sighed. "I know," he offered. "I honestly do wish that there was more I could tell you, but our traditions don't allow it." Gently, he patted the chocobo nearest to him, before turning his attention to Noctis. "Your father would be proud to see you in those robes, you know?"

It was a subject change, and a pretty obvious one, but that was okay. He'd already told Noctis that he couldn't say anything more about the ceremony, and as much as Noctis wanted to ask, he figured that he'd find out soon enough. He glanced down at himself again and hummed a soft note, though he wasn't sure if it was agreement or disagreement. "Everyone keeps saying that. I'm glad. You probably think it's a bad idea... me wearing it, I mean. Since Drautos is out for me and everything." At least, while he didn't regret it, that was how _he_ felt.

Much to his surprise, though, Cor shook his head no. "I think it's a show of solidarity. While I'm not _supposed_ to have any bias, I kind of can't help it in this case. I'm quite fond of the Caelum family. Your parents have always been there for me, and your father was actually the one who guided me to the Eventide Defenders when I had nowhere else to go." The smile on Cor's face grew sad.

"I didn't know that..." Noctis answered.

With a laugh, Cor shook his head no. "No, I wouldn't suspect that you _would_ know. When I was younger, I was an urchin. I ran with a group of child thieves from Hammerhead, who traveled around Leide and struggled to find meals at the end of the day. We found our way to Insomnia one week. It was difficult getting into the city, so we made camp outside and entered with a group of dignitaries from Niflheim, hidden in their cart. Our plan was just to find food in the city, but when we looked, we were already halfway up the mountain to your castle."

Noctis' eyes were wide. Of all the things that he'd expected Cor to be, a child thief was not one of them. "You stole from the castle?" he asked, his tone a surprised whisper.

But Cor laughed again, shaking his head no. "We never made it that far, actually. The foreign dignitaries caught us in their cart, and were going to have us executed, because they caught us carrying the things that we'd stolen from their bags." He adjusted the saddle on his chocobo, then hung the last of the luggage in its saddle bag. "Your father stopped them. He wasn't Teyrn at the time, your grandfather was. A far more ruthless man than your father was. He tried to get them to see that we were but children, but they were more concerned with their pockets being emptied than any sort of morality that went with killing children. The man swore to your father that he would pay if I was not executed. So, your grandfather put us in the dungeons, and scheduled an execution for three days later."

"But you're still here..." Noctis murmured in question.

Cor nodded. "By all rights, I shouldn't be. Your father, though, on the eve of our execution, came down to the dungeon and let us all out. The rest of the boys ran once he got us to the city gates. I tried to run, too, but your father told me to wait. He told me that he wasn't going to harm me, and instead he was going to take me to someone who would make sure that I always had food in my stomach and a safe place to sleep," he explained.

The Eventide Defenders. "And they took you in without question? Even as a child?" he asked.

Humming a yes answer, Cor chuckled softly. "I wasn't allowed to undertake the procedure to become a Defender until I was much older, for reason that I can't properly explain to you," he told Noctis. "But yes. For years, I earned my keep helping the chanters out and helping the healers keep the Defenders alive. At eighteen, when I came of age, I was allowed to join them."

Wow. Noctis hummed thoughtfully, turning his head to look at Cor in appraisal. "Is that why you came to try and warn us about the attack, then?" he asked.

For a couple of seconds, it didn't look like Cor was going to answer. Eventually, though, he did. He tilted his head from side to side, then huffed a hollow note of humorless laughter. "Partially," he admitted. "It's why I, in particular, was the one who came to warn you. There is more to it than that, though, and I cannot explain it to you until you're a member of our ranks. I've already stepped outside of the rules enough by telling your father the whole story." There was a mildly sheepish smile on Cor's face as he turned toward Noctis.

"So, exactly how much am I about to _learn_ when I join you guys?" It was supposed to be a joke, but honestly, the more Noctis heard, the more he wished that Cor wasn't so strict about that particular code. The amount of times he heard 'I'll tell you when you join us' over the course of the trip so far enough to fill its own book. Gladio had given up on asking questions a couple of days ago, but not Noctis.

Cor laughed another soft and slightly hollow note, before answering, "A lot. We have a pretty big library in the Fortress, and while I'm pretty sure that it's the place of Ignis' dreams, there are restricted areas that you can only go in once you've completed your tasks." He glanced over at Ignis, where he was passing a small bowl of breakfast to Talcott.

Humming thoughtfully, Noctis looked down at the ground. A lot. Enough to fit in a library. He guessed that it made sense. Most places had their own libraries. Hell, the palace back in Insomnia had a _massive_ library. A library that was probably in ashes now. It would be nice to look through some of the books in a new place. Noctis had never been terribly _fond_ of reading, but that was because he'd always been forced to look at the same books. He wondered what books the Defender library had.

Before he got a chance to ask, though, Cor spoke up again, stepping forward and placing a hand on Noctis' shoulder. "You'll be fine. I promise, I would never lead you into a situation where I wasn't absolutely sure that you would be okay. Like I said, I owe your father far too much for that. For now, just have faith in what we're doing and trust me enough not to question too much, okay? I realize that's a little bit counter-intuitive, but it's important." He huffed a laugh and looked down at the ground, before turning his head to look up at Noctis.

"Okay," Noctis answered simply.

Cor glanced toward the sky and mused, "if we leave at sunup, we should be at Cauthess Fortress by noon. Then you and Gladiolus can start gathering everything we need to get things underway." After a gentle squeeze and shake of Noctis' shoulder, he turned on his heel and closed the conversation, walking toward the campfire where Ignis was dishing out breakfast.

Noctis wished that he could get a more certain answer from the man, but at the same time, a part of him understood why he couldn't. Smoothing a hand through his hair and turning his head to look up at the sky, Noctis regarded the last stars as they faded from the sky. It was a few shades lighter than it had been a little while ago when he woke up, and would grow even lighter still. He breathed in deeply enough to completely fill his lungs with the fresh morning air, then let it out in a slow puff. He still wasn't sure that everything was going to be as alright as Cor seemed to think it would be. The least he could do, though, was put his trust in the man.

And then, once he was an Eventide Defender, they could depart for Altissia and Noctis would get revenge for every single thing that Drautos and Niflheim had done to his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still have a few chapters until Prompto shows up, since I know you've all been wondering!


	6. Fortress

Once they arrived, Umbra and Archdemon were taken to the kennels and the stables respectively, and Noctis frowned. The frown only disappeared when Cor reassured him that everyone at the fortress would be made aware of the fact that they were Noctis', and that no one else would try to claim ownership. Umbra looked a little bit disappointed, maybe a little bit worried too, but Noctis reassured him with a scratch behind his ears and then reassured Archdemon with a hand brushed along her feathers. He had to trust that the Defender kennel master and stable hand would know how to treat a dog and a chocobo respectively.

Whatever Noctis had been expecting of Cauthess Fortress, this was very much not it. It was almost like a city, carved into a volcano or something. Maybe it wasn't quite as homey as Insomnia, but it really was impressive. There were shops that sold armor and weaponry, which was immediately where Iris and Ignis decided to hurry to the moment they got the chance, and a whole giant dining area where the several defenders sat, eating meals that would have made everyone Noctis knew jealous. They probably weren't as good as the things Ignis cooked, no, but they were still impressive. A massive griffin breast, an even _bigger_ behemoth tenderloin, and a pile of potatoes that looked like something out of a dream.

It was then that Noctis realized that he'd been surviving on camping food for a week. Porridge and oatmeal were okay, but it was nothing compared to what he was seeing right now. His stomach rumbled, and suddenly he found himself wishing that he could just sit at the table and start indiscriminately eating everything in his sight. When Cor told them to get a meal, the five of them didn't protest at all. They all slid into position at the table, Ignis and Iris flanking Gladio on either side and Talcott and Cor flanking Noctis. The mountain of food in front of Noctis was... definitely exactly what he needed.

"Eat until you're full. Especially you two," Cor said, turning to Noctis and Gladio with the last part. "You're going to need all the energy you can possibly get."

As soon as the offer escaped Cor's lips, Noctis busied himself with doing just that. A heaping pile of potatoes with three rolls, a massive cut of garula sirloin and a giant serving of behemoth tenderloin immediately found their way to his plate. He glanced up across the table at Ignis, who nudged a bowl full of steamed vegetables in Noctis' direction with a stern look on his face.

Admittedly, a part of him wanted to use the fact that he was his own man now as a reason _not_ to have to eat any vegetables, but the look on Ignis' face told him that it would very much _not_ go over well. With a sigh, he picked up a large spoon and filled it with peas and broccoli—the _least_ offensive vegetables that the table had to offer.

"Happy?" Noctis asked his friend.

Ignis smirked and nodded his head. "Very. You'd best eat it all, too. Right, Cor?"

Arching an amused eyebrow, Cor looked from Ignis to Noctis and puffed a laugh out. "What, are you afraid of a few vegetables, Noctis?" he asked with a teasing smile as he delivered a gentle elbow to Noctis' rib cage.

Noctis shook his head. "No!" he protested around a mouthful of behemoth meat. "M'not _afraid_ of 'em, just think they're gross. You can't disagree with me there!" He swallowed the food in his mouth, not even stopping to breathe before shoveling a spoonful of potato into his mouth.

"Careful, Noct," Iris teased, "you might actually taste some of it."

Except, even as she protested, Gladio was shoveling food into his mouth in a very similar fashion. Maybe even quicker than Noctis. He'd already finished half of his entire plate, which had been even fuller than Noctis' when he'd started. When he noticed that all five pairs of eyes around him were trained on him, he stopped with a piece of griffin leg sticking out of his mouth, and mumbled, "what?" in a muffled voice.

That managed to get a laugh from everyone, who turned back to their individual meals and went back to eating. Noctis sighed as he poked at a piece of broccoli, deciding to hide the offensive taste by dousing it in mashed potato and a small piece of behemoth meat that he'd cut from the giant portion on his plate. It was still very detectable around the good stuff, but it did its job to drown it out. That, he decided, was how he'd make it through the ordeal. Washing it down with the wine that Cor had poured for everyone but Iris and Talcott, Noctis sighed happily.

"If this is this good now, imagine how good it'll be when Iggy and Iris start working in the kitchens." Noctis smirked across the table at his friends, who immediately exchanged concerned glances behind Gladio's back.

Cor's smile faded as he glanced around the table. "Now," he interrupted the conversation, looking at Gladio and then over at Noctis. "The two of you have a very important mission when you've finished eating. I'm going to take my leave now, and I'll be waiting over by a campfire nearby, okay? Eat until you've got enough energy to fight. I meant it when I said that. Your mission is going to take you outside of the fortress at nightfall." He placed a hand on Noctis' shoulder, stood, and then walked away, out toward the central area of the fortress.

When he was gone, Noctis turned to glance at Iris, who was looking at Gladio with concern. "Outside of the fortress at night?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, it does seem rather dangerous," Ignis agreed, looking from Gladio to Noctis. "The daemon populace outside of residential areas has been rising steadily over the past few years. Especially the further you get from cities like Insomnia or Lestallum. Or even smaller towns like Hammerhead. We couldn't be any further from any of those places if we tried."

The mention of Insomnia had Noctis thinking about his home, wondering exactly how it was doing now. Without anyone to defend it, had the place turned into a _cesspool_ for daemons and the like? It made sense, honestly. They used to have people who defended the walls, though it was almost a revolving door. People died or left, sometimes they just gave up because it became too much to deal with. Now, with the gates busted open and everyone who lived in the city, Noctis was having a hard time imagining it _not_ being overrun by daemons. It was sad. Devastating, honestly.

Despite that, he turned his head to look at Ignis with a shrug. "Cor wouldn't send us to do anything _too_ dangerous, though. I'm sure he's keeping us away from any areas that are _too_ daemon-infested."

A lie. Honestly, he wasn't sure at all. The mystery of this whole mission, of what it took for them to join the defender ranks, was unsettling to a degree that Noctis had never been unsettled before. He pulled in a breath, taking a quick glance over his shoulder at where Cor had disappeared to. On the other end of the table, a couple of people who were completely armed from head to toe sat, occasionally glancing over at Noctis and Gladio. Noctis was a little bit concerned about how he'd assimilate into the group, but it would be easier with his friends at his side. Part of him wondered exactly how _non_ -defenders were treated. He couldn't see either of them running into trouble. Iris was as friendly as anyone Noctis had ever met, and Ignis was the smartest person he knew. They'd fit in.

Gladio, too, was a born warrior. He was _destined_ to be in a place like this. Noctis only hoped that he'd eventually find his place, too. Rather than allowing himself to focus on that for too long, he shoved another forkful of meat and potatoes into his mouth and looked at Iris and Ignis with a consoling nod. "Everything'll be okay," he said with a full mouth.

Iris made a face at him. "Noct, that's gross. Can you like... swallow your food before you talk?"

"Listen," Noctis joked with a little grin, "you wanna get on someone about that, get on him about it." He pointed at Gladio, who was _still_ stuffing food unceremoniously into his mouth.

With an eager nod, Talcott added, "it's just how men eat! C'mon, Iggy! Be more like us!" with an eager, toothy, food-filled smile on his face.

Ignis groaned his disapproval. "I will absolutely not. Come now, you two. Look what you're teaching the boy. Eat like civilized people, before I make the whole next meal consist solely of vegetables," he threatened, though his tiny smile belied his words.

Honestly, Noctis was pretty sure that the group of them were just too relieved to have things go back to normal conversation after the past few days they'd had. As though proving his point, from there, the rest of the meal went back to easy conversation. They tried to keep the focus away from the mystery mission that Noctis and Gladio were about to be sent on, but somehow, they always found their way back to it. Dinner, the group of them sitting together and talking about Insomnia and their favorite memories from the city, was exactly what Noctis needed. As the group of them split up, Gladio and Noctis to go an find Cor, Ignis, and Iris to go visit the quartermaster, and Talcott to go help in the medical tent, Noctis felt better than he had since they'd left the city.

Noctis was almost sad to see the pleasant mood go when he and Gladio had to meet with Cor, but they did. So, hesitantly, the group split up and went their separate ways through Cauthess Fortress. Gladio and Noctis walked side by side through the training area, watching as Defenders practiced tactics for fighting against various types of daemons. There were Defender mages, Defender archers… all different types of different battling Defenders. Elves, dwarves, humans… it felt like everyone had a place here, and that genuinely gave Noctis hope that maybe, just maybe, things could be okay again.

Though, maybe not at first. Everyone they passed, it almost seemed like they were staring. Maybe it was the fact that Noctis was still wearing robes with his family's crest on them, or that the way he was dressed in general looked significantly more 'fancy' than the rest of the mages he'd seen. Still, Cor had told him that it was okay to wear these robes; that he fit them well. Part of Noctis hoped that, maybe, the mistrust that he was sensing would fade when he actually became a Defender.

Until then, he stuck as close as he possibly could to Gladio. Not that he couldn't defend himself if things went wrong, but… Gladio always had and always would look out for him. It was a little bit embarrassing to admit to how much he needed that right then.

As soon as they spotted Cor, they walked up to a camp on the other side of the training area. Three men sat around the campfire with him, none of whom looked familiar in any way. The first, a somewhat portly dwarf, greeted them with a warm and friendly smile and a nod of his head. The second, an angry elf, had a very treacherous glint in his eye as he regarded Noctis and Gladio with annoyance and suspicion, before turning to the third man—a darker-skinned dwarf with a messy mop of dark hair on his head—and something under his breath.

"Noctis. Gladiolus. Kind of you to join us. These gentlemen are Libertus, Luche, and Axis, who will be undertaking the test and the joining process with you."

The way Luche and Axis were looking at Noctis and Gladio was making Noctis really nervous, but he stood tall, breathing in and puffing his chest out a little bit in an attempt to appear imposing. It probably didn't work in the least, since Noctis was easily smaller than _all_ of the men around this campfire by half. That didn't stop him from trying, though. He only relented when Luche and Axis traded amused snickers at his expense, then rolled their eyes and turned to glance back to Cor.

Cor glanced at the two of them with vague disdain, before pulling in a breath and looking at Noctis, Libertus, and Gladio, too. "I'm sure you're all curious as to what the joining process entails, but I need to send you all on an errand first. It will take you outside of the Fortress at night, so you'll have to be aware and ready to have one another's back. That," he paused, flashing a pointed look at Luche and Axis, "will teach you one of the most important tenets of being a Defender. Camaraderie. These people are not just people who are fighting at your side, they are your brothers. They are all here of their free will. So, treat them with respect."

Luche looked incredibly disenchanted by the whole conversation, but nodded once when he looked at Cor. "Very well," he muttered. "What is it that's going to take us outside of the fortress, then?" The man looked like he was trying to take on defacto leadership of the group, but Noctis thought that maybe Gladio would be better suited for that.

"You'll be going to Cauthess Village," Cor explained, pointing to a map that hung from the massive trunk of a tree several feet away from where he stood. He moved his hand to Cauthess Village, the moved to a forest area outside of the town. "Or, more accurately, this wooded area here. You'll be assisting the town by taking out an infestation of daemons there, and you will _also_ be taking these vials-" He walked forward, putting a hand in a pouch that hung from his belt and procuring three vials, handing them to Libertus- "and gathering some daemon blood."

Noctis raised an eyebrow. "D-daemon blood?" He was pretty sure that he'd read in a _dozen_ different books about how toxic daemon blood was when it even so much as touched a person's skin. It made him worry about actually _touching_ daemons for long enough to get their blood, but... Cor had to have a reason.

With a nod, Cor handed Luche, then Axis, their three vials. He moved over to Noctis, reaching into the pouch again. "Yes, which is why you will have to wear gloves. And those of you who have no choice but to use swords—which is all of you but Noctis, I suppose—need to be wary that none of the blood touches you." He turned to glance at Noctis. "Noctis, it would likely be beneficial if you were able to dispatch the daemons before they could get to the others, though I suspect that might prove difficult for one mage."

"Not if he's like his daddy. Just slice a palm, and all the daemons in the area would be _toast_ ," Luche murmured, but Noctis was sure that he meant for it to be heard, if the way he was looking at Noctis was any indication. To his left, Axis just chuckled.

Much to Noctis' surprise, before even he _or_ Gladio could react, Cor sidestepped right into Luche's space and shook his head no. "Defender law states that no one is allowed to hold anyone's past _or_ family over their head. Once they show up here, their life is a clean slate. I'm not sure how you got wind of the unfortunate circumstances in Insomnia, but I will thank you to keep commentary to yourself, before I have you cast out." The mentor tone was gone from Cor's voice, and a flash of fiery anger sparked in his eyes, like he was holding back an instinct of doing just that.

How _had_ they gotten wind of it? Had Drautos just come straight here after he jumped out the window to throw accusations around? No. He wouldn't have been allowed in Cauthess Fortress, would he? Especially not since Cor knew what he'd done. It made Noctis shrink back a little bit more against his volition. If they knew, who else knew? How far had the rumors about his entire family's use of blood magic gotten? Would the Circle of Magi try to take him away? Cor had promised that the couldn't, so he took that at face value and breathed in slowly, then out quickly, turning to look at Gladio as Cor handed him his vials.

Stepping back, Cor flashed the group a tight-lipped smile. "I suspect this to be the end of that conversation, yes?"

As much as Noctis wanted to ask this guy where he'd gotten the information that he seemed to have, he simply shut his mouth, turned to Cor, and nodded glumly. He felt Gladio clasp his shoulder in support, and turned to look at his friend with a weak smile on his face. Then, he turned his attention back to the others, to Libertus, who seemed to be looking at the others with incredulous anger. Then to Luche, who looked kind of self-satisfied with how he'd made Noctis feel like he wanted to either disappear or punch Luche in the face. Or punch Luche in the face and _then_ disappear.

Cor nodded once, handing Noctis a pouch filled with poultices and potions, and then stepped back. "Night will be falling in a few hours, which gives you just enough time to make it to Cauthess Village before the daemons start showing up if you leave now. When you finish, come back here immediately for the second part of the joining process."

With a glance around the group, Noctis nodded and followed behind Cor as he started leading them toward a small cave in the far wall of the fortress. "This cave will take you straight out into the woods of Cauthess. If you travel due west, within a couple of hours, you should find yourself at Cauthess Village, and a few malms north from there, you will find the daemon invasion." The directions were equal parts simple and not, and before he followed Cor's directions, he turned around and took a glance throughout the fortress again.

Everyone seemed to be going about their business. It was okay. It would be okay. If all of these people survived going to kill daemons, Noctis and Gladio could do it too, right?

So, he pulled in a breath and followed behind Gladio into the cave. Cor didn't say another word to any of them, just watched as they disappeared into the tunnel. It was incredibly dark, so Noctis conjured up a fireball in his hand to light their way. Maybe he relied a little much on his magic sometimes, but what was the point of being a mage if he couldn't use it? It was more than enough to light up their path, as well as reveal the walls of the tunnel up to the ceiling, and Noctis felt a lot better about at least being able to see where he was going.

That was, until Luche spoke up again.

"You know, mages belong in the Circle. Leonis obviously should have just left you for the templars."

Noctis' jaw clenched. Maybe he'd been sheltered, but this was honestly the first time that anyone had told him that he _belonged_ in the Circle. He pulled in a heavy breath through gritted teeth, then let it out through his nose in a full puff, and opted to ignore the taunt. Not easy, but it had to be done.

Instead, he turned to Gladio. "So, how many poultices did he leave us?" Noctis asked.

In his periphery, he could see Luche scowling at him. "Oh, look at the holier than thou mage, ignoring the big mean bully who's just trying to hit him with a dose of the truth. The messenger told us all about what happened at Castle Insomnia, Caelum. How your dear old daddy killed everyone in his own castle with blood magic. Do you intend to slice your palm and slaughter us all on our way to the village?" he continued.

"Enough, Luche," Gladio rumbled, his voice a threat to the man if he tried to continue.

Libertus nodded his agreement. "Seriously. We don't know what happened. We weren't there."

"Your point? The messenger had to have heard it from _somewhere_ , right? Teyrn Caelum destroyed his own city and-"

Noctis was about seconds away from throwing the fire magic in his hand out at Luche's face, but it ended up not mattering because before he got the chance, Gladio crossed the space in front of him with speed that Noctis wouldn't have expected his friend to have. Before anyone had registered what was happening, Gladio had hauled back with all of his strength and punched Luche in the jaw. While the man was crumpled on the ground, Gladio knelt down, grabbed him by the collar of his armor, and picked him back up.

With a voice that sounded like more of a growl than anything Noctis had ever heard before, Gladio spoke. "Let's get one thing straight," he started, pinning Luche to the wall of the tunnel. "You don't know a damn thing about what happened in Insomnia. Your _messenger_. Did they say anything about how soldiers walked into the castle and _slaughtered people when they were going about their normal day_? About how they were murdering men, women, _children_ , none of whom deserved to die? Whether Regis Caelum did blood magic or not doesn't matter for _shit_ , because he was doing it to defend what remained of his people."

"Bullshit," Luche seethed, hocking up and spitting in Gladio's face. "No blood mage does it for _any reason_ but their own selfish needs."

Behind him, Axis was backing away like a coward, and Libertus was simply staring, as wide-eyed as Noctis, at the situation as it unfolded. Noctis, though, stepped forward and narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what experience you've had with magic that has you so scared that you'll believe any rumor you hear about someone slaughtering their _own home_ with blood magic, but you're wrong. My dad was not a blood mage. He defended his town once with blood magic. I am not a blood mage. I have never used blood magic _once_ , and I never will. Believe me, if you want-"

Luche snorted. "I don't," he seethed.

And that was when Gladio snapped. "The _only_ thing keeping me from taking my sword and jamming it through your windpipe right now is the fact that I don't want to resort to murder," he snapped. "If Noct really _was_ a blood mage, don't you think you'd want to be a little bit _nicer_ to him? 'Cause it seems to me that the _first_ person he'd want to take out was someone who'd shit all over his family; his home, which he just had to leave behind because it was destroyed by _enemy forces_. Not his dad." With that, he dropped Luche's shoulders and used his gloved hand to wipe the saliva from his face.

Landing in a heap on the ground, Luche stared at Noctis as he pulled himself into a seated position, and then stood up.

Axis was the one who spoke next, as he rushed over to help his friend up. "So, you aren't a blood mage, then?"

"I could tell you. Or, I could make you wonder. Besides, blood magic isn't even against Defender rules. So, who exactly would you tell if I _was_ one?" Noctis replied. A smirk crossed his face as he turned to look at Gladio. He caught what his friend was trying to do; trying to intimidate a man who wouldn't listen to reason into shutting the hell up. The grin that Gladio flashed back at him showed that he'd very much gotten the point, and when Gladio clapped a hand on his shoulder, it only drove the point home.

It didn't seem to matter, though. "You're not a Defender yet, Caelum," Axis reminded them.

Gladio shrugged his head to the side. "Soon as we finish taking out these daemons and do whatever the second part of the joining process is, we will be. The past doesn't matter. Right?" With a shrug, Gladio narrowed his eyes, daring either of them to keep talking.

They didn't. Instead, they turned and stormed away like petulant children, leaving Noctis, Gladio, and Libertus behind. Libertus looked at them as they walked away, then turned to look at Noctis and Gladio like he was trying to decide which group he wanted to go with. After a couple more seconds of silent deliberation, he walked forward and looked up at Noctis. His eyes were appraising, and he stepped back so that he didn't have to crane his neck quite so high to get a good glimpse. With his head tilted to the side, he looked like he was about to start speaking, but hesitated.

Gladio spoke up, though. "Hey. You gonna go or stay?" he asked.

After turning his attention to Gladio, he hummed thoughtfully, then turned back to look at Noctis. "For what it's worth... I don't think you're a blood mage," said the dwarf, as he pointed over his shoulder at the others. "Luche's always starting shit. We came here together. Marshal Leonis helped us out of a pretty bad situation, and conscripted us so that we didn't have to go to jail."

Noctis arched an eyebrow. "Jail? What for?"

Libertus pulled in a breath, then pointed toward the exit of the tunnel. "Tell you what," he suggested. "I'll tell you on the way. We've all got a pretty long journey ahead of us, and I have a feeling we're not gonna be talking to those two for most of it. It's a long story, so it'll probably fill most of the trip. Maybe we can swap. You can tell me what _really_ happened in Insomnia, and I'll tell you guys where we came from." With a one-shouldered shrug, he reached a hand out for Noctis to shake.

The hand not holding the orb of flame magic that was currently lighting their path reached out, accepting Libertus' extended hand and nodding his head yes. "That sounds good," he agreed.

While he still wasn't sure of the situation, especially with a pair of people like Luche and Axis with them, he _was_ sure that Libertus was a good guy. He was glad, at least, that Libertus seemed to have sense; and even _more_ relieved to have Gladio at his back. Between the three of them, they could prevent anything _too_ bad from happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has been sitting in my Google Drive for a little while, until I got the urge to post! I'm hoping that posting and seeing if it gains traction will spark me to continue, because I had lots and lots of plans for it!


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